tihtwy  of  Che  theological  ^tminary 

PRINCETON   .   NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Francis  L.  Patton 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/expositiondefenc1859will 


AN 


EXPOSITION  AND  DEFENCE 


OP 


UNIYEBSALISM, 


IN  A  SERIES  OF  SERMONS 


DILIVERED   IN    THE    UKIVURSAXIST    CHURCH,    BALTIMORE,    MD- 


REV.  I.  D.   WILLIAMSON,   D.D 


NEW  YORK: 
HENRY     LYON,    PUBLISHER, 

No.  7   LE    ROY    PLACE. 

1859. 


Entered  according  to  Ad  ol"  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 

P.  PRICE, 
the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  State*, 
for  the  Southern  Distrie  of  Ntew  York. 


PREFACE. 

The  circumstances  which  drew  out  the  following  dis- 
courses, are  rather  local,  than  general.  The  author  is 
the  only  public  advocate  of  a  world's  salvation,  in  a  city 
of  one  hundred  thousand  souls.  His  sentiments  are  fre- 
quently attacked,  and  as  often  misrepresented,  both  in 
the  pulpit  and  from  the  press.  For  this  cause  he  felt 
himself  called  upon  to  lay  before  his  congregation,  and 
the  public,  so  far  as  they  were  willing  to  hear,  a  plain 
and  explicit  statement  of  his  faith,  and  the  reasons  on 
which  that  faith  was  founded.  He  had  no  intention  of 
giving  these  labors  to  the  public  through  the  press,  but 
prepared  them  for  the  pulpit  alone.  He  commenced 
their  delivery ;  and  it  was  soon  discovered,  that  they  at- 
tracted more  attention  than  his  most  sanguine  anticipa- 
tions had  led  him  to  expect.  The  large  house  in  which 
they  were  delivered  became  crowded  to  overflowing,  and 
a  general  desire  was  expressed  that  they  might  be  issued 
from  the  press.  In  accordance  with  this  desire  and  the 
advice  of  friends,  the  author  has  consented  to  present 
them  to  the  public  in  their  present  form,  with  scarcely 
a  revision  from  the  original  copy. 

He  is  aware  that  there  are  already  many  able  works 
upon  the  same  subject  before  the  public,  in  comparison 


IV  PREFACE. 

witn  which,  any  effort  of  his  pen  must  be  feeble.  But 
It  is  hoped,  that  the  attention  which  has  been  given 
these  lectures,  in  that  portion  of  the  Master's  vineyard 
where  the  author  resides,  will  secure  for  them  there,  a 
more  general  circulation  than  could  be  obtained  for  any 
other  work  upon  the  same  subject.  It  is  hoped,  also, 
that  they  may  be  the  means  of  adding  something  to  the 
general  good,  by  strengthening  the  faith  of  the  believers 
who  are  scattered  abroad,  and  presenting  to  the  minds 
of  those  "  who  are  of  the  contrary  part,"  a  feeble  effort 
to  explain  and  establish  the  doctrines  of  those  who  re- 
joice in  the  great  salvation. 

For  the  style  and  manner  of  his  sermons,  he  makes 
no  apology,  his  aim  has  been  to  be  understood,  and  to 
convince,  rather  than  please  the  ear  with  well  sounded 
periods  or  flights  of  fancy ;  and  as  for  his  errors,  if  he 
has  advanced  any,  let  the  reader  and  the  public  give 
them  no  quarters.  "  If  this  work  be  of  man,  it  will 
come  to  naught,  but  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow 
it."  "Whosoever  readeth  let  him  understand,"  and  it 
the  doctrines  here  taught  shall  be  proved  ialse,  none 
will  be  more  ready  to  abandai  them  than  the  public's 

humble  servant 

The  Author. 


CONTENTS 


Preface.  .  •  •  •  .  3 

SERMON  I. 
Introductory.  ••••••        7 

SERMON  II. 
Unity  of  God.  .  ,  ,  ,        .        22 

SERMON  III. 
Atonement.  ••••»•        S6 

SERMON  IV. 
Death  of  Christ.  •  .  •  .  .  64 

SERMON  V. 
Punishment.  •  •  •  •  fib 

SERMON  VI. 
Forgiveness  of  Sins.  •  -  80 

SERMON  VII. 
Duration  of  Punishment.  •  •  •  •  96 

SERMON  VIII. 
Judgement.  .  .  .  •  •ill 

1* 


VI  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  IX. 

The  Resurrectiou.  .  •  •  •        125 

SERMON  X. 
Destruction  of  Death.  ■  •  •  140 

SERMON  XL 
Nature  of  Salvation.  •  •  •  •       .        165 

SERMON  XII. 
Repentance.  •  •  •  •         .         170 

SERMON  XIII. 
Faith 184 

SERMON  XIV. 
Influence  of  Universalisni.         .  i  •  ,199 

SERMON  XV. 
Decision  of  cliaracter,  a  Religious  daty.  •        ?}4 


4^11 


AN 

EXPOSITION   AND   DEFENCE 

OF 

UNIVERSALISM. 

SERMON   T. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

"  May  we  know  what  this  new  doctrine  whereof  thou  speakest  is?  Pol 
thou  bringcst  certain  strange  things  to  our  ears  ;  we  would  know  therefore, 
what  these  things  mean."  Acts  xvii.  19,  ao. 

The  hearer  will  undoubtedly  recognise  this,  as  the 
language  of  certain  philosophers  of  Athens,  addressed 
to  the  Apostle  Paul.  At  Thessalonica,  the  Jews  raised 
a  tumult  and  drove  him  out  of  the  city.  Departing 
thence,  he  went  to  Berea,  and  there  preached  the  good 
word  of  the  kingdom,  with  great  success.  Thither, 
however,  the  Jews  followed  him,  and,  "  stirred  up  the 
people  against  him,"  until  he  was  no  longer  safe  in  that 
city.  Accordmgly,  he  departed,  and  went  to  Athens, 
and  there  waited  for  his  companions,  Silas  and  Timo- 
theus  to  join  him.  He  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  opulenc  and  powerful  city  of  Greece— a  city,  dis- 
tinguished alike  for  the  military  talents,  learning  and 
eloquence  of  its  inhabitants.  There,  the  schools,  pro- 
fessors and  philosophers  of  Greece,  were  congregated, 


8  INTRODUCTORT. 

and  there,  temples  and  altars  were  reared  to  every  false 
God  of  whose  name  the  people  had  heard.  The  historian 
informs  us,  that  "Paul's  spirit  was  stirred  within  him, 
when  he  saw  ihe  whole  city  given  to  idolatry,  there- 
fore, disputed  he  in  the  synagogue  with  the  Jews,  and 
with  devout  persons,  and  in  the  market,  daily,  with  such 
as  met  him."  In  these  disputations,  he  encountered  cer- 
tain of  the  Epicureans  and  Stoics,  and  they  brought  him 
to  Areopagus,  the  place  where  they  held  their  courts  of 
justice,  and  there,  they  addressed  him  in  the  language 
of  the  text.  "  May  we  know  what  this  new  doctrine 
whereof  thou  speakest  is?  for  thou  bringest  certain 
strange  things  to  our  ears ;  we  would  know  therefore 
what  these  things  mean;  for  they  spent  their  time  in 
nothing  else,  but  to  tell,  or  to  hear  some  new  thing." 

I  cannot  forbear  the  remark  here,  that  although  these 
inquirers  were  actuated  by  nothing  better  than  an  idle 
curiosity,  in  making  this  request,  yet  their  conduct  was 
far  more  commendable,  than  that  of  those  who  condemn 
a  man  and  his  religion,  without  first  giving  him  a  hearing 
in  his  own  behalf  Paul  gladly  embraced  the  opportunity 
thus  afforded  him  of  entering  upon  a  defence  of  the  gos- 
pel. He  preached  to  them,  "  God  that  made  the  world, 
and  all  that  dwell  therein,"  pointed  out  to  them  the  folly 
of  their  idolatrous  practices,  and  appealed  to  them  in  be- 
half of  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  with  such  energy  and 
power,  that  "  some  believed,"  and  others  said,  "  we  will 
hear  thee  again  of  this  matter." 

I  presume  the  hearer  has  already  anticipated  the  use 
the  speaker  intends  to  make  of  this  text.  He  stands 
before  you,  the  advocate  and  the  only 'public  advocate 
in  this  large  city,  and  even  in  this  State,  of  the  doctrme 
of  impartial  and  efficient  grace — a  doctrine,  which  to 
some  of  his  hearers,  may  be  both  new  and  strange.     He 


INTKODUCTORT.  9 

doubts  not,  that  some  of  his  auditors  have  turned  in 
hither,  and  he  trusts  with  good  motives,  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  what  this  new  doctrine  is;  and  they  would 
giadly  know  what  these  things  mean.  The  speaker  has 
no  sentiments  to  conceal,  and  if  his  hearers  will  mani- 
fest a  good  share  of  that  patience  which  characterized  the 
man  of  Uz,  he  will  proceed  in  all  frankness  and  simplicity 
to  lay  before  them  his  views  of  the  economy  of  his 
father's  grace.  He  asks,  and  he  feels  confident  that  he 
will  receive  from  this  enlightened  and  respectable  au- 
dience, a  candid  and  patient  hearing,  and  if  in  the  end, 
he  fails  of  producing  conviction  that  his  sentiments  are 
true,  the  hearer  shall,  at  least,  have  it  in  his  power  to 
give  a  more  enlightened  judgement  against  them.  He 
speaks  for  himself  only,  and  is  alone  responsible  for 
what  he  utters ;  at  the  same  time,  the  hearer  is  at  liberty 
to  conclude  that  in  these  views,  he  mainly  agrees  with 
the  great  body  of  the  denomination  to  Avhich  he  is  at- 
tached. These  preliminaries  being  settled,  we  come 
now  to  lay  before  you  the  most  prominent  features  of 
our  faith.     These  are 

I.  The  existence  of  one  only  living  and  true  God. 

This  supreme  object  of  our  devotions,  we  believe,  to  be 
possessed  of  every  possibly  great  and  glorious  attribute 
and  perfection,  that  can  command  our  love  or  invite  our 
praise.  In  him  is  Poiver,  which  knows  no  control — 
Wisdom,  which  never  errs,  but  sees  with  infallible  ex- 
actness, "  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient 
times  the  thing  that  is  not  yet  done  ^'— Mercy,  which 
melts  in  pity  o'er  the  woes  of  man — Truth,  which  can- 
not lie — Holiness,  without  spot  or  blemish — Goodness, 
unchanging  as  God  and  impartial  as  the  light  of  heaven, 
and  Justice,  which  rewards  the  virtuous  and  punishes 
the  vicious,  accoi  ding    i  those  eternal  principles  of  ree 


iO  INTRODUCTOKT. 

titude  and  equity,  wrtich  are  the  same  yesterday,  to-day 
and  for  ever.  This  is,  with  us,  the  foundation  of  all 
religious  truth,  the  sure  and  steadfast  corner-stone,  on 
which  the  whole  superstructure  of  the  christian  temple 
rests.  The  evidences  of  the  existence  of  such  a  God, 
meet  us  on  every  page  of  nature's  ample  volume,  evei 
open  before  us.  We  read  his  name,  stamped  with  the 
broad  and  legible  impress  of  his  own  hand,  on  all  the 
surrounding  glories  of  creation.  We  discover  the  won- 
ders of  his  Power,  in  this  "  ponderous  globe  of  earth, 
self  balanced  on  her  centre  hung,"  and  in  the  distant 
stars,  that  wheel  their  endless  circles  in  awful  majesty 
through  the  infinity  of  space  above  and  around  us.  We 
trace  the  footsteps  of  his  Wisdom,  in  the  wonderful 
order  and  harmony  that  pervade  all  the  operations  of 
nature's  vast,  and  complicated  machinery.  We  see  his 
Goodness,  in  every  "changing  season,  as  it  rolls;"  and 
the  teeming  earth  and  bending  heavens  around  us  bear 
their  testimony  to  his  love.  We  mark  the  rules  of  his 
Justice,  in  the  infallible  certainty  with  which  punish- 
ment, sooner  or  later,  overtakes  the  guilty,  and  in  the 
rich  and  sweet  reward,  that  comes  down  upon  the  virtu- 
ous and  the  obedient.  Thus  we  learn  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  we  count  it  no  credulity,  to  say,  and  to  believe, 
in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  that  the  stupendous  fabric 
of  the  universe  was  reared  by  the  hand  of  a  wise  and 
powerful  God;  and  we  discover, neither  reason,  philoso- 
phy nor  truth,  in  the  mind  of  that  misguided  man,  who 
hath  "  said  in  his  heart,  that  there  is  no  God."  We  are 
content  to  say,  in  the  language  of  the  sacred  penman, 
"Lo!  God  hath  made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves:"  and 
we  rejoice  to  know,  that  in  him  power  never  degeuerat<?s 
into  tyranny,  wisdom  into  cunning,  mercy  into  weak- 
ness, nor  justice  into  cruelty,  but  ail  blend,  centre  and 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

Darmonize  in  cliangeless  and  immortal  goodness.  We 
believe  that  this  God  has  established  a  moral  govern- 
ment in  the  world — that  he  takes  cognizance  of  human 
conduct,  rewards  the  virtuous  and  puni:?hes  the  vicious 
— that  he  has  made  a  revelation  of  himself  and  his 
government  to  man — and  that  he  has  so  arranged  the 
order  of  his  providence,  that  all 

"  Conspires  to  his  supreme  control 
To  universal  good." 

I  must  not  here  omit  to  remark,  that  the  Lord  our 
God,  is  one.  Sole  and  supreme  author,  and  governor  of 
all  things,  he  has  no  equal  to  dispute  his  sway,  no  rivals 
to  claim  a  portion  of  the  homage  due  to  him  alone.  We 
can  acknowledge  no  other  being  as  God,  but  him  alone. 
Hence  with  the  sentiments  of  the  Polytheisl  who  be- 
lieves in  many  gods,  the  Pantheist  who  believes  that 
all  is  god,  and  the  Trinitarian,  who  believes  in  three 
Gods  in  one,  and  one  in  three — we  have  no  fellowship 
or  communion.  To  us  there  is  ONE  GOD,  the  Father  of 
all,  and  besides  him  there  is  none  else.  Thus  the  Scrip- 
lures  teach  and  thus  does  reason  decide.  The  heathen 
indeed,  had  a  multitude  of  gods,  but  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets  abjured  the  whole  long  catalogue  of  Pagan 
divinities,  and  worshipped  with  singleness  of  heart,  the 
one  and  indivisible  I  AM  ;  and  it  would  in  our  judgement 
be  as  easy  to  prove,  that  these  Patriarchs  worship- 
ped thirty  thousand  gods  with  the  Romans,  as  that 
they  acknowledged  three  beings  of  equal  power  and 
glory. 

The  doctrine  of  the  simple  and  undivided  unity  of 
God,  IS  no  nexo  or  strange  thing  under  the  sun.  It  is  as 
old  as  that  Gospel  whose  author  bowed  at  the  throne 
of  his  Father  in  prayer,  thereby  acknowledging  liim  a^ 


12  INTRODUCTORr. 

supreme,  and  whose  tongue  confessed,  saying,  "My 
Father  is  greater  than  all."  It  is  as  old  as  the  law,  which 
was  given  in  the  midst  of  the  thunders  of  mount  Sinai ; 
for  there,  God  proclaimed  his  name  as  the  one  only  liv- 
ing and  true  God.  It  is  as  old  as  Abraham,  for  to  him, 
God  said,  "  I  am  God  and  there  is  none  else."  It  is  aa 
old  as  Adam,  for  to  him  God  manifested  himself  as  the 
one  supreme.  It  is  as  old,  yea  older,  than  creation,  for  ere 
the  morning  stars  sang  together,  or  even  the  spirit  of 
the  Almighty  walked  forth  upon  the  dark  waters  to 
rouse  this  universe  into  being,  even  then,  God  undivided 
and  alone,  dwelt  in  the  changeless  eternity  of  his  own 
presence,  and  angels  and  archangels  bowed  in  ceaseless 
wonder  before  him  and  worshipped  him,  as  the  sole  and 
only  object  of  adoration  and  praise.  It  ought  not  there- 
fore, to  be  considered  as  something  new  or  strange,  that 
we  should  worship  one  God,  and  one  alone. 

But  I  pass  this,  for  my  object,  in  this  discourse,  is  not 
so  much  to  prove  the  truth  of  our  faith,  as  to  tell  you 
what  that  faith  is.  The  proof  is  reserved  for  our  future 
labors. 

II.  Our  faith  recognises,  Jesus  Christ  as  the  son  of 
God,  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
.      You  will,  of  course,  have  concluded  from  the  remarks 
/  already  made,  that  however  highly  we  may  esteem  the 
I  character  of  Jesus,  we  cannot  recognise  him  as  the  self 
I  existent  and  supreme  God.      He  himself  claimed  no 
^  such  exaltation,  but  uniformly  acknowledged  the  su- 
premacy of  God,  not  only  in  words,  but  in  the  fact  that 
he  worshipped  him,  and  prayed  to  him,  as  a  superior 
being. 

He  confessed,  that  he  was  sent  of  God,  and  he  claimed 
no  power  that  he  did  not  receive  from  God.  "I  can  of 
my  own  self  do  nothing,"  was  his  constant  assertion. 


INTEODUCTORT.  13 

He  claimed  no  higher  title  than  the  humble  one,  "the 
son  of  man,"  and  if  he  claimed  no  more  for  himself,  it 
is  a  misguided  disciple  that  claims  it  for  him.  Instead 
therefore,  of  "giving  the  glory  of  God  to  another," we 
maintain,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  created,  and  a 
dependent  being,  deriving  all  his  wonderful  powers  from 
God.  We  are  content  to  view  him  as  did  Peter,  when 
he  said,  "  he  was  a  man  approved  of  God,  by  signs  and 
miracles,  and  wonders  which  God  did  by  him,  in  the 
midst  of  the  people;"  or  Paul,  when  he  said,  "  Th^re 
is  one  God,  and  one  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all, 
to  be  testified  in  due  time."  And  if  you  ask  me  if  he 
was  no  more  than  a  man  ?  My  answer  is,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  scripture,  "He  was  made  in  all  things,  like  unto 
the  brethren,"  but  was  "  anointed  with  the  oil  of  glad- 
ness above  his  fellows,"  and  endued  with  power  greater 
than  any  other  man.  "  We  see  Jesus,  who  was  made 
a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  for  the  suffering  of  death,. 
crowned  with  glory  and  honor,  that  he  by  the  grace  of 
God  should  taste  death  for  every  man." 

Upon  the  nature  of  Christ's  mission  and  work  on  earth,, 
it  is  proper,  that  I  should  speak  at  some  length,  under 
this  head.  Jesus  came  not  to  placate  the  wrath  of  in- 
censed and  outraged  Omnipotence.  The  heathens  wor- 
shipped gods  whose  favor  must  be  propitiated  and 
whose  wrath  must  be  appeased  by  sacrifices  and  blood. 
But  the  radiant  bow  of  heaven's  immortal  Lord  and 
King,  was  never  yet  ?,hrouded  in  a  cloud  so  dark,  that 
his  own  mercy  and  love,  could  not  shine  with  brightness 
upon  the  world.  The  mission  of  Christ,  is  not  presented 
in  the  scriptures,  as  having  originated  in,  or  as  having 
been  rendered  necessary  on  account  of  the  wrath  of  God. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  uniformly  set  forth  as  originating. 
2 


14  INTKODUCTORT. 

ill  God,  and  as  being  the  highest  testimony  of  his  love. 
"God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
son."  "  Herem  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that 
he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  son  to  di^*  for  us."  These  are 
the  teachings  of  the  scriptures,  and  they  certainly  forbid 
the  idea  that  it  was  any  part  of  the  object  of  a  Saviour's 
mission,  to  save  men  from  the  unmerciful  wrath  of  God. 
Neither  did  ''"esus  come  to  save  from  the  just  punish- 
ment of  sin,  by  satisfying  the  divine  justice,  and  suffering 
the  penalty  due  the  sinner  in  his  room  and  stead.  This 
is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  God  himself  has  declared 
the  principle  of  condemning  the  just,  and  justifying  the 
wicked,  to  be  an  abomination  in  his  sight ;  and  of  course, 
he  could  not  do  the  abominable  thing.  It  is  evident  also, 
from  the  consideration,  that  justice  cannot  be  satisfied 
with  the  sufferings  of  the  innocent.  When  a  law  is 
transgressed,  it  is  out  upon  the  transgressor,  and  ten 
thousand  rivers  of  innocent  blood,  can  never  satisfy  the 
claims  of  that  law.  It  asks  the  blood  of  the  guilty,  and 
of  the  guiJiv  alone,  and  it  is  foul  disgrace  to  the  law  of 
God,  to  represent  it,  as  a  blind  Juggernaut,  thirsting  for 
blood,  and  equally  well  pleased  whether  that  blood  flows 
from  the  veins  of  the  guilty,  or  gushes  from  the  heart' 
of  the  innocent,  so  that  the  required  quantum  of  blood 
is  shed.  One  of  the  clearest  principles  of  justice,  is  that 
which  forbids  the  infliction  of  the  punishment  of  the 
guilty  upon  the  head  of  the  innocent,  and  there  is  no 
justice  in  Heaven,  or  earth,  that  can  be  satisfied  by  the 
■sufferings  of  the  innocent  for  the  guilty. 

The  position  assumed,  is  further  evinced  in  the  fact, 
that  God  has  said,  "Every  man  shall  suffer  for  his  own 
sins"  and  has  and  does  still  practice,  upon  the  principle 
of  punishing  the  guilty,  which  he  would  have  no  right 
to  do,  if  justice  had  lost  its  c  aims,  in  consequence  of 


INTRODUCTORY. 


15 


having  been  fully  satisfied  by  the  death  and  sufferinga 
of  Christ. 

I  may  at  some  future  time  take  this  matter  up,  at 
large.  At  present  I  merely  hint  at  it,  in  order  to  lead 
your  minds  to  a  just  view  of  another  prominent  and  pe- 
culiar principle  of  our  faith  which  teaches,  that  "God 
will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty,"  but  will  inflict  upon 
every  soul  of  man,  the  just  punishment  of  his  sins,  and 
there  is  no  escape.  Thus  saith  the  scriptures,  "He 
that  doeth  wrong  shall  receive  for  the  wrong  that  he 
hath  done,  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons."  "  Though 
hand  join  in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  go  unpun- 
ished." 

Now,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  while  the  ceaseless 
cry  is  raised  against  us,  that  we  deny  all  punishment 
for  sin,  we  are  the  onhj  denomination  who  believe  that 
all  sin  will  be  punished.  I  know  others  believe,  that 
some  sinners  will  be  fully  punished,  but  they  also  believe, 
that  many  will  escape  the  penalty  of  the  law.  They 
do  indeed  tell  us,  that  all  men  deserve  an  endless  hell, 
and  would  receive  it,  if  justice  v/ere  done;  but  they 
have  all  some  spiritual  insolvent  act  in  the  shape  of  an 
atonement,  or  forgiveness,  or  repentance,  by  which  the 
vilest  sinner  may  escape,  and  cheat  justice  of  its  dues. 
Set  it  down,  as  one  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Univer- 
salism,  that  no  man  can,  by  any  possibility,  escape  a 
just  punishment  for  his  sins.  We  believe  in  the  for- 
giveness or  removal  o^sin^  not  in  the  remission  ot  pun- 
ishment, anJlieitTder  forgiveness,  nor  atonement,  nor  re- 
pentance, nor  any  thing  else,  can  step  in  between  the 
sinner  and  the  penalty  of  the  violated  law. 

The  dogma  of  endl'^ss  wo,  we  reje<;t  as  unmerciful, 
unjust  and  cruel,  a  penalty  which  a  just  God  never  did 
and  never  can  annex  to  his  law.     It  was  not  therefore 


16  INTRODUCTORY. 

necessary  lor  Christ  to  come  into  the  world  to  save  men 
from  a  future  endless  hell,  as  a  penalty  of  the  divine 
law,  for  the  good  and  sufficient  reason*  that  no  such 
penalty  was  ever  annexed  to  that  law.  I  am  not 
speaking  at  random,  but  I  know  whereof  I  affirm,  when 
I  say  that  no  living  man  can  take  up  the  Bible,  and  find 
a  place  where  God  gave  man  a  law  and  annexed  to  it 
the  penalty  of  endless  misery.  Hence,  I  say,  that  man 
needed  not  to  be  saved  from  such  an  evil,  for  the  best  of 
all  possible  reasons,  that  in  the  economy  of  God,  he 
never  was  exposed  to  any  such  calamity. 

I  have  now  told  you,  what  Christ  did  not  come  for; 
will  you  hear  from  the  blessed  Saviour  himself,  what  was 
the  object  of  his  mission  on  earth  ?  He  says,  "  To  this 
end  was  L  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  1  into  the  earth, 
that  I  might  bear  "witness  to  the  truth."  Now  the  wit- 
ness does  not  go  into  court  to  make  truth.  He  goes 
there,  to  testify  to  what  is  already  true.  So  Jesus  in 
our  view,  came  not  to  make  any  thing  true,  that  was 
not  so  before ;  but  he  was  the  faithful  and  true  witness, 
who  came  to  make  known  the  truth,  "  as  it  was  in  the 
beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be,  world  without  end." 

He  came  to  reveal  the  character  and  the  purpose  of 
God,  and  hence,  near  the  close  of  his  ministry  he  said, 
"  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do, 
I  have  declared  thy  name  unto  them  which  thou  gavest 
me  out  of  the  world." 

The  fact  was,  that  man  was  ignorant  without  hope 
and  without  God  in  the  world.  He  was  ignorant  of 
himself,  of  his  own  nature  and  destiny,  ignorant  of  God, 
and  his  purposes  of  grace,  and  devoid  of  confidence  in 
the  care  and  protection  of  his  heavenly  father.  He 
bowed  before  stocks  and  stones,  and  said  "  these  be  my 
gods."    He  tore  his  flesh — he  tortured  his  body — he 


INTROD"JC»  JKT.  17 

cast  himself  in  the  flood— he  devoted  pimself  to  a  liv- 
ing martyrdom,  and  burned  the  bodies  of  his  children  in 
the  flame,  to  appease  the  wrath  and  secure  the  favor  of 
his  gods,  and  was  v/ell  pleased,  if  by  these  rites  he 
secured  a  trembling  hope  of  safety  for  a  day  or  an  hour. 
The  grave  yawned  at  his  feet  and  there  was  no  light 
to  shine   upon    its    darkness.      Man    shuddered  as   he 
thought  that  he  must  go  doAvn  to  feed  the  Avorm,  and 
sleep  in  eternal  silence  in  the   tomb — or  if  perchancej 
the  spirit  survived  the  shock  of  death,  there  was  dangei 
that  he  would  be  the  companion  of  demons  and  the 
sport  of  fiends  through  a  long  eternity.     Jesus  came  a 
light  into  the  world.     He  tore  away  the  vail  which  had 
so  long  obscured  the  face  of  the  excellent  glory,  and 
revealed  to  a  wondering  world  the  character  of  God,  in 
all  its  matchless  beauty,  as  the  friend  and  father^  who 
fed  the  fowls  of  the  air— decked  the  lillies  of  the  field, 
and  watched  the  falling  sparrow,  and  Avho  would  more 
abundantly  take  care  of  man,  the  last  and  noblest  work 
of  his  hand.     He  also  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light,  and  bore  his  testimony  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead;  and  to  prove  that  his  witness  was  true,  descended 
into  the  grave — rose  from  its  power,  and  ascended  on 
high,  to  receive  gifts  for  men,  "  yea  for  the  rebellious 
also  that  the  Lord  God  might  dwell  among  us."    Thus, 
he  bore  witness  to  the  truth,  and  labored  to  save  man 
from  ignorance,  from  sin,  from  doubt  and  fear,  and  from 
death  itself  by  the  power  of  the  resurrection.     To  this 
end  was  he  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  he  into  the 
world,  "  that  he  might  bear  witness  to  the  truth  ;"  and 
because  this  truth  is  destined  to  prevail  over  all  oppo- 
sition, and  save  man  universally,  in  prospect  and  fruition, 
therefore,  is  he,  what  we  believe  him  to  be, "  the  ^aviour 
of  the  world."    This  brings  me  to  say  that  we  believe, 
2* 


18  INTRODUCTORT. 

ni.  In  the  resurrection  of  all  men  from  the  dead,  and 
in  the  uliimaie  holiness  and  happiness  of  the  whole 
human  family. 

This  is,  with  us,  the  crowning  excellency  of  the  Gos- 
pel— a  theme  on  which  we  ever  dwell,  with  most  lively 
satisfaction  and  joy.  To  this  grand  consummation  of  the 
divine  government,  all  the  attributes  and  perfections  of 
God,  and  all  the  principles  of  the  divine  government  are 
tending ;  and  the  sentiment  thus  shadowed  forth  in  these, 
is  repeated  in  clearer  and  more  emphatic  tones  in  the 
revelation  which  God  has  made. 

The  difference  between  us  and  other  denominations, 
in  regard  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  simply  this. 
Others  believe  that  men  will  be  raised  from  the  dead 
morally  in  the  same  state,  or  condition,  in  which  they 
left  this  world.  Thus,  if  a  man  dies  a  sinner,  they  be- 
lieve that  he  will  be  raised  up  from  the  dead  a  sinner, 
with  all  his  evil  propensities  and  passions  about  him, 
and  he  will  then  receive  the  reward  of  his  doings.  To 
him  the  resurrection  will  be  an  endless  and  bitter  curse, 
inasmuch  as  it  will  introduce  him  to  a  state  of  untold 
and  immortal  suffering.  Our  vieivs  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  difier  from  this.  We  think  that  God  has  a 
higher,  holier  and  better  object  in  view,  in  the  resur- 
rection, than  that  of  conferring  an  immortality  upon  sin 
and  suffering.  We  believe  that  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and 
all  the  evil  passions  that  distract  and  torment  man  on 
earth,  will  be  left  in  the  earth  where  they  originated, 
that  God  will  not  transplant  them  to  another  world  to 
nourish  them  there.  We  believe  that  man  shall  be  raised 
from  the  dead,  as  the  apostle  said  he  should  be,  "  im- 
mortal," "incorruptible,"  "glorious,"  and  "heavenly," 
and  in  the  "  image  "  of  the  ^isen  Redeemer — that  he 
ehsU  be,  as  the  Saviour  £aii  he  should  be,  in  the  resurrec* 


INTRODUCTOR /  19 

tiou,  "equal  unto  the  angels,"  neither  shall  he  die  any 
more,  but  be  a  child  of  God,  as  he  is  a  child  of  the 
resurrection,  and  that  the  future  life,  shall  be  to  all,  a 
ceaseless  blessing,  coming  from  the  fullness  of  a  father's 
grace.  Tiiere,  sin  shall  be  finished  and  transgression 
shall  end — there,  nc  storms  of  passion  shall  rise,  no  wave 
of  sorrow  disturb  the  waters  of  that  peaceful  river, 
which  flows  pure  as  amber,  and  clear  as  crystal,  from 
the  throne  of  God  on  high.  The  hand  of  a  father's 
love  shall  wipe  the  last  tear  from  the  eye  of  weeping 
humanity,  and  his  soothing  voice  hush  to  silence  the 
last  sigh  that  shall  escape  from  the  pained  heart  of  a 
creature  of  God.  There,  all  shall  be  holy,  and  happy 
because  they  are  holy ;  and  there  shall  be  no  note  of 
discord  to  mar  the  harmony  of  creation's  jubilee.  Such 
is  the  consummation  of  the  government  of  God  as  we 
behold  it.  I  ask  you  to  compare  these  views  of  God 
and  his  government,  with  a  system  which  conducts  us 
on  to  the  future  world,  and  thus  leaves  us  with  a  frag- 
ment saved  while  countless  millions  mourn — a  system 
which  makes  the  universe  itself  a  huge  reservoir  of  tears, 
a  theatre  of  endless  rebellion,  cursing  and  blasphemy— 
and  when  you  have  made  the  comparison,  tell  me  in  the 
name  of  reason,  which  is  most  worthy  of  a  God  of  in- 
finite goodness. 

I  have  now  given  you  an  outline  of  a  doctrine,  which 
to  some  of  you  maybe  new;  but  new  or  old,  so  we  be- 
lieve, and  so  we  preach.  I  have  only  to  add,  that  this 
doctrine  is  in  reality  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  God 
himself  proclaimed  it  unto  Abraham  saying,  "In  thy  *  / 
seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."  Paul  says  expressly, 
that  himself,  and  his  faithful  coadjutors  in  the  ministry, 
labored  and  suffered  reproach,  because  they  trusted  in 
the  living  God  who  was  "  the  S'i  riour  o^  all  men,  especi-   fy 


21  INTRODUCTORY. 

ally  of  them  that  believed,"  and  Peter  affiims,  that 
the  "restitution  of  all  things"  had  been  spoken  by 
the  mouth  of  all  the  holy  prophets,  since  the  world 
began.  Not  one  had  failed  of  bearing  testimony  to  this 
truth. 

Among  the  apostolic  fathei^,  John  the  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,  Gregory  Naziazen,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
and  the  far  famed  Origen,  were  the  open  and  avowed 
advocates  of  this  doctrine.  In  fact,  it  was  proclaimed 
with  all  boldness  in  the  christian  church,  during  the 
firsi  three  hundred  years  of  its  existence,  and  it  was 
never  found  out  to  be  a  heresy,  until  about  the  year  550. 
when  it  was  gravely,  and  for  the  first  time  condemned 
by  a  council  of  bishops  and  cardinals,  who  to  say  the 
least,  had  as  much  of  the  wisdom  of  the  world,  as  they 
had  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus.  But  in  every  age,  from  that 
day  to  this,  there  have  been  those  who  have  seen  and 
tesiified,  that  "  the  father  sent  the  son  to  be  the  saviour 
of  the  world."  Among  the  reformers,  Zuinglius  believed 
it,  and  it  is  thought  that  the  illustrious  Melancthon 
himself  was  not  far  from  the  kingdom.  In  latter  days, 
and  in  the  popular  church  many  have  believed.  Arch- 
bishop Tillotson,  Burnet,  Law,  the  author  of  that  inesti- 
mable work  "  A  Serious  Call,"  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  the 
Chevalier  Ramsey,  Dr.  Phillip  Doddridge,  Bishop  Thomas 
Norton,  John  Prior  Estlin,  Thomas  Belsham,  Dr.  Priestley, 
Ann  Letitia  Barbauld,  the  inimitable  poet,  and  a  host  of 
others,  whose  names  are  illustrious  in  the  church,  have 
been  believers  in  this  doctrine. 

'  In  our  own  country,  it  has  had  its  advocate^  The 
celebrated  Dr.  Rush  believed  it,  and  the  sagf  /itmklin 
was  not  far  Irora  it.  The  beloved  father  of  If  3  country, 
was  the  friend  of  Murray,  and  Greene  wl  ;  g-allantly 
fought  by  his  side,  hung  wi*b  rapture  upoi     he  pr«ach- 


INTRODUCTORT.  2] 

ing  of  the  only  herald  of  a  world's  salvation,  then  in 
America. 

I  name  not  these  things  because  they  prove  aught, 
one  way  or  the  other:  but  I  do  it,  simply  to  show  you, 
that  it  is  not,  as  some  suppose,  a  new  doctrine,  invented 
within  the  last  half  century,  and  believed  only  bv  the 
rash  and  inconsiderate. 

But  whether  it  be  new  or  old  I  have  given  you  a  hasty 
sketch  of  its  most  prominent  features;  and  in  my  subse- 
quent lectures,  I  intend  to  give  you  the  proof  of  its  truth. 
Appealing  to  your  candor  and  reason,  and  to  the  sacred 
word  of  eternal  truth,  I  will  lav  the  matter  before  you, 
and  I  only  ask  you  to  approve  or  reject,  as  your  own 
judgement,  enlightened  by  revelation  and  unwarped  by 
prejudice  or  superstition,  shall  decide,  and  of  the  result 
i.  have  n  .>  fears. 


22  UNITY  OF  GODU 


SERMON   II. 

THE    UNITY    OF    GOD. 

"  For  there  is  one  God  and  one  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  ui*n 
Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testiflel  in  due  tjme. 

I  Timothy,  ii.  5, 6. 

In  a  previous  lecture,  I  gave  you  a  statement  of  the  doc- 
trine of  Universal  Salvation,  and  promised  that  I  would 
lay  before  you,  in  some  subsequent  discourses,  the  evi- 
dence on  which  we  rest  the  defence  of  our  faith.  In 
prosecuting  this  work,  it  is  proper  for  me  to  remark,  in 
the  outset,  that  there  are  several  things,  which  we  hold 
in  common  with  all  other  denominations,  and  upon  these 
it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  dwell.  So  far  as  the 
object  of  this  discussion  is  concerned,  these  things  may 
as  well  be  taken  for  granted,  as  I  intend  to  insist  mainly  • 
on  those  points,  which  are  'peculiar  to  us,  or  in  which 
we  differ  from  others. 

I  gave  you  the  existence  of  a  God  of  infinite  wisdom, 
power,  goodness,  mercy,  justice  and  truth,  as  the  first 
article  in  our  faith,  and  the  foundation  of  all  religious 
truth.  I  need  not  say,  that  this  is  a  doctrine  which  is 
advocated  by  all  professors  of  Christianity  of  every 
name,  and  it  surely  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  argue  that 
matter,  before  an  assembly  of  Christians. 

I  take  it  for  granted  then,  in  this  discussion,  that  there 
is  a  God,  and  on  that  point  I  shall  have  no  dispute  with 
any  Christian.  But  when  I  come  to  say,  that  God  is 
one  and  undivided    'md  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  was  a 


UNITY    OF    GOD.  23 

created  beiug,  dependent  upon  God  for  all  his  powers, 
I  shall  be  met  by  those  who  contend,  that  God  is  triune^ 
in  nature,  and  that  Jesus  was  the  rery  God.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  discourse  is  to  examine  this  question,  and 
give  you  the  reasojis,  which  induce  us  to  believe  that 
there  is  one  God,  in  one  person,  and  that  Jesus  the  medi- 
ator, was  what  the  apostle  calls  him  in  the  text,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus. 

In  regard  to  the  simple  unity  of  God,  the  teachings 
of  nature  are  not  as  clear  and  explicit,  as  upon  many 
other  points  in  theology.  There  is,  however,  a  unity  of 
design  and  purpose,  and  an  order  and  harmony  of  opera- 
tion, in  the  works  of  creation,  evidently  at  war  with  the 
idea,  that  there  are  many  superior  beings  to  govern  them. 
From  the  wonderful  order  and  harmony  of  nature,  the 
presumption  is  most  unquestionable,  that  there  is  but 
one  supreme  God ;  but  whether  that  God  exists  in  a 
unity  or  trinity  of  persons,  nature  and  reason  cannot 
decide.  The  whole  matter  must  rest  upon  revelation, 
and  that  revelation  must  of  course  be  examined,  in  the 
light  of  that  reason,  which  God  has  given  us,  and  to 
which  a  revelation  alone  could  be  made.  It  is  proper 
10  observe  here,  that  according  to  the  soundest  principles 
of  reason,  the  question  ought  to  be,  whether  there  are 
three  Gods,  or  one?  The  trinitarian  has  no  right  to 
assume,  that  there  are  both  three  Gods,  and  one;  for 
that  is  not  possible.  If  he  proves  that  the  Father  is 
God,  and  that  the  Son  is  God,  and  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  God,  and  that  these  are  separate  and  distinct  persons, 
all  equal  in  power  and  glory;  then,  I  have  an  uncjues- 
tionablc  right  to  hold  him  to  the  position,  that  there  are 
three  Gods._  If  the  scriptures  teach  this,  then  they  teach 
that  there  are  three  Gods  ;  and  I  cannot  allow  a  man  to 
attempt  an  evasion  of  the  difficulty,  by  saying,  that 


^; 


S4  UNITY  OF   GOD. 

these  three  are  one ;  and  that  there  is  but  one  God  aftei 
all.  If  it  be  meant,  that  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost, 
are  only  different  names  of  the  same  being;  that  is 
another  matter,  but  if  it  be  contended,  that  each  of  these, 
is  a  separate  and  distinct  person,  and  each  verily  God, 
then  I  hold  you  to  the  position,  that  there  are  three 
Gods.  To  say  that  the  Father  is  God,  and  the  Son  is 
God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God,  and  yet,  there  are  not 
three  Gods,  but  one  God,  and  then  attempt  to  escape  by 
calling  it  a  mystery,  is  but  a  miserable  mode  of  argu- 
ment. I  maintain,  that  there  is  no  mystery  about  it, 
but  it  is  a  direct  and  palpable  contradiction.  The  truth 
is,  there  are  either  three  Gods,  or  else,  there  is  but  one, 
and  no  man  has  a  right  to  claim  that  there  are  three 
persons,  separate  and  distinct,  each  very  God  of  very 
God,  and  yet,  that  there  is  but  one  God,  and  think  to 
escape,  by  taking  a  leap  into  the  darkness  of  mystery , 
for  I  insist,  it  is  not  a  mystery,  but  a  contradiction. 

I  hope  these  remarks  may  be  borne  in  mind,  and  the 
hearer  will  remember,  that  the  true  question  is  not, 
whether  there  are  three  Gods,  and  yet  one  God,  but  it 
is,  whether  there  is  more  than  one  God,  at  all. 

Now,  for  the  law  and  the  testimony  upon  that  point 
If  we  speak  not  according  to  the  divine  word,  it  is  be- 
cause there  is  no  light  in  us.  In  the  scriptures  of  the 
old  Testament,  we  read  of  many  of  the  wonderful  works 
of  God ;  and  we  have  presented  to  us  the  teachings  of 
the  patriarchs  and  prophets.  There  we  read  of  the 
God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  this  same 
being  is  represented  as  forbidding  the  people  to  worship 
any  other  God  but  him,  for  he  repeats  frequently,  and 
with  peculiar  emphasis,  "I  am  God  and  besides  me, 
there  is  none  else."  Now,  I  should  like  some  man, 
well  skilled  in  the  mystery  of  the  trinity,  as  it  is  called, 


UNirr  OF  GOD.  25 

CO  infonn  me  lohich  of  the  three  persons  it  wss,  iha- 
spokethis?  This  is  a  very  important  matter,  because 
there  is  some  being  who  speaks  here,  and  claims  to  be 
Ood,  and  not  only  does  he  claim  to  be  God,  but  he  de- 
nies that  there  is  any  other  God  besides  himself  We 
ask  then,  which  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity  was 
it,  that  claimed  to  be  God  alone  ?  If  it  was  God  the 
eternal  Father,  why  then,  he  is  God,  and  neither  of  the 
other  two  can  be  God.  If  it  be  said,  that  it  was  neither 
of  the  persons  of  the  Trinity,  but  the  triune  God,  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost  who  spoke ;  I  beg  to  inquire  how 
we  know  that  fact  ?  The  book  sayS;  it  was  the  God  of 
Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob,  who  claimed  to  be  the 
only  God,  and  it  affirms  further  saying,  "Hear  oh  !  Israel, 
the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  Lord,"  and  it  is  as  silent  as  the 
grave  about  a  Trinity.  But  who  was  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham ?  Was  it  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  Or  was  it  the  third 
person  of  the  Trmity  ?  Or  was  it  the  eternal  Father 
of  all  ?  You  know  well  enough,  the  answer  that  must 
be  given  to  this  question.  Abraham  worshipped  the 
one  only  living  and  true  God,  and  all  the  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  bowed  with  singleness  of  heart  before  him, 
as  the  one  and  indivisible  I  AM ;  and  from  all  their 
writings  and  actions,  it  does  not  ?eem  that  they  ever 
dreamed  of  his  having  an  equal  in  earth,  or  heaven. 
During  four  thousand  years,  God  was  worshipped  by 
patriarchs  and  prophets,  as  one  only  living  and  true 
God,  and  the  name  of  a  Trinity  was  unknown. 

There  is  something  inexplicable  about  this  matter, 
which  the  trinitarian  would  do  well  to  consider.  It  is 
admitted,  on  all  hands,  that  the  Jews  worshipped  the 
true  God,  and  yet,  they  never  prayed  to  Jesus,  nor  to  the 
Holy  Ghost,  but  always  addressed  all  their  prayers  and 
praises  to  God.  One  of  two  things  must  be  true :  either 
3 


86  UNITY    OF    GOD. 

they  were  right,  an^  worshipped  God  as  one  and  undi- 
vided, or  they  were  wrong  and  worshipped  they  knew 
not  what.  If  they  were  right,  then  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
is  not  th^;  very  God,  for  they  worshipped  him  not,  and 
there  is  no  other  God  but  him  that  tlie  patriarchs  adored. 
If  they  were  wrong,  then  God  never  made  a  revelation 
to  the  Jews,  and  the  whoLe  of  the  Old  Testament  is  a 
fable,  and  the  New,  also,  must  fall,  for  Jesus  built  his 
Gospel  upon  the  foundation  of  the  prophets,  and  taught 
men  to  worship  the  same  God  that  Abraham  worshipped. 
The  trinitarian  may  take  which  horn  of  the  dilemma 
he  chooses.  One  or  the  other  he  must  have,  for  to  prove 
that  either  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  or  the  Holy  Ghost,  was 
worshipped  by  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  is  out  of  the 
question. 

The  New  Testament  writers  are  as  clear  and  explicit 
upon  this  point,  as  they  of  the  Old  covenant.  "  There  is 
one  God,"  saiih  our  text;  and  again  says  the  Apostle, 
"  Unto  us,  there  is  one  God,  \he  father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Now  I  ask,  who  was  this  one  God,  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  Was  it  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
himself?  Or  was  it  the  third  person  in  the  Trinity  ?  Or 
was  it  a  being  composed  of  the  three  ?  The  answer  to 
these  questions  is  too  obvious  to  need  repeating.  The 
God  of  the  Apostle,  was  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  he 
knew  no  other  God.  This  God,  was  the  father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  hence  could  not  be  Jesus  him- 
self, unless  a  being  can  be  his  own  father. 

There  is  another  remarkable  fact,  which  should  not  be 
forgotten.  It  is,  that  Jesus  himself  acknowledged  this 
same  God  and  worshipped  him,  and  prayed  to  him. 
Now,  if  he  had  been  the  very  God  himself,  he  would 
not  have  worshipped,  or  prayed,  unless  you  suppose  he 
worshipped  hil  iself,  and  prayed  to  himself,  which  is 


UNITY    OF    GOD.  27 

fcbsurd.  I  know  men  strive  to  evaJe  thid  by  saying, 
taat  he  was  God  and  man  both,  and  that  it  was  the 
human  nature  that  prayed.  But  this  is  darkening  coun- 
sel by  words  without  knowledge.  If  Jesus  was  God 
and  man  both,  and  if  sometimes  the  man  spoke,  and 
sometimes  the  God,  by  what  rule,  I  pray  you,  are  we  to 
know  when  the  man  spoke,  and  when  the  God  was 
heard  ?  It  is  trifling  with  scripture  to  interpret  it  after 
this  manner.  If  when  Jesus  prayed  he  was  merely 
talking  to  himself,  or  if  his  human  nature  was  praying 
to  his  divine  nature,  why  in  the  name  of  wonder  did 
not  the  historian  say  so,  instead  of  informing  us,  that  he 
kneeled  down  and  prayed  to  his  God,  just  as  any  other 
man  would,  and  leading  us  from  his  words,  and  acts,  to 
the  conclusion,  that  he  was  praying  to  a  superior  being, 
whom  he  adored  as  his  father  and  his  God?  If  Jesus 
was  the  very  God  why  did  he  say,  that  he  could  do 
nothing  of  himself,  and  tha.t  his  father  was  greater  than 
all?  If  he  was  the  very  God,  and  the  equal  of  the  All- 
wise,  why  did  he  aflfn-m,  that  he,  the  Son,  did  not  know 
the  day  or  the  hour  of  the  coming  tribulation  ?  Yea, 
why  did  he  say  he  could  pray  to  his  Father  and  he 
would  give  him  twelve  legions  of  angels?  Or  why  did 
he  in  the  agony  of  the  cross,  say,  "My  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Had  he  forsaken  himself?  These 
are  questions  that  the  trinitarian  would  do  well  to 
answer:  and  until  he  does  so,  and  that  satisfactorily,  I 
shall  hold  Aviih  the  apostle,  that  there  is  one  God,  and 
that  God  is  the  father  of  our  Lori  Jesus  Christ,  and  not 
the  Lord  Jesus  himself 

I  am  aware,  that  there  are  certain  passages  of  scrip- 
ture, which  are  thought  to  teach,  that  Jesus  claimed  ta 
be  the  very  God.  It  would  be  impossible  for  me,  in  a 
discourse,  to  go  into  an  examination  of  all  these  pas- 


28  UNITY    OF   GOD. 

sages.  Tliis  wcrk  would  require  a  volume,  instead  of 
a  sermon.  The  most  I  can  do  in  the  limits  I  have  pre- 
scribed for  myself  is,  to  select  one  or  two  of  the  strongest 
of  these  passages,  and  if  I  show,  that  these  fail  of  pro- 
ving the  point  in  hand,  leave  you  to  the  reasonable  con- 
clusion, that  the  other  and  less  important  passages  will 
fail  also.  Among  the  passages  quoted  to  prove  the  su- 
preme divinity  of  Christ,  I  know  of  none  which  is  relied 
upon  with  more  confidence,  than  the  words  of  the  Sa- 
viour recorded  in  John  x.  30,  "  I  and  ray  Father  are  one." 
[judge,  however,  that  a  little  attention  to  the  context, 
will  satisfy  the  hearer,  that  even  this  text,  when  properly 
understood,  falls  far  short  of  proving  the  absolute  deity 
of  Jesus.  I  presume  it  will  be  admitted,  that  Jesus 
knew  as  well  the  meaning  of  his  own  language  as  we 
can  know  it,  and  that  his  explanation  will  be  perfectly 
satisfactory.  It  so  happens,  that  he  was  called  in  ques- 
tion for  that  very  language,  by  those  that  heard  it,  on 
the  spot,  and  he  explained  his  meaning  in  a  manner  that 
would  have  been  satisfactory  to  any  but  bigots,  who 
were  determined  at  all  hazards  to  condemn  him.  When 
he  said,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one,"  the  Jews  took  up 
stones  again,  and  were  about  to  stone  him.  But  he  said 
unto  them,  many  good  works  have  I  showed  you  from 
my  Father;  for  which  of  those  works  do  ye  stone  me  ? 
"  They  answered  and  said,  for  a  good  work,  we  stone 
thee  not,  but  for  blasphemy,  and  because  that  thou  being 
a  man,  makest  thyself  God."  Now  I  wish  you  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  Jews  understood  this  passage  as  men 
now  understand  it.  They  thought  he  claimed  to  be  God, 
and  therefore  they  accused  him  of  blasphemy.  Mark 
the  explanation  that  he  gave.  He  answered  them,  "  Is 
it  not  written  in  your  law,  I  said  ye  are  Gods  ?  If  he 
called  them  gods  untc  ivhom  the  word  of  God  came 


L-NITY   OF   GOD.  29 

and  the  scriptures  cannot  be  broken,  say  ye  ol  nim, 
whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified  ani  sent  into  the 
world,  thou  blasphemest,  because  I  said,  I  am  the  son 
of  God?"  The  drift  of  the  argument  is  this.  He  did 
not  say  he  was  God.  He  only  said  he  was  the  son  of 
God.  In  their  law,  those  were  called  gods  unto  whom 
the  word  of  God  came.  When  they  read  in  their  law, 
"  ye  are  gods,"  they  understood  it  well  enough ;  and 
Jesus  wished  them  to  do  him  the  justice  to  understand 
him  in  the  same  manner ;  for  he  claimed  to  be  God,  only 
in  that  subordinate  sense,  in  which  their  law  called  those 
gods  to  whom  the  word  of  God  came.  This  was  the 
explanation  that  Jesus  himself  gave.  It  seems,  how- 
ever, that  the  Jews  were  not  satisfied  with  it,  but  still 
contended  that  he  blasphemed.  There  are  some  people 
now,  who  arc  not  satisfied  with  his  explanation,  but 
they  will  have  it  that  the  Jews  were  right,  when  they 
accused  him  of  making  himself  a  God. 

Look  at  the  subject  in  another  light  for  a  moment. 
Jesus  said,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one."  The  Jews  took 
up  stones  and  were  about  to  stone  him ;  and  Avhen  he 
asked  them,  why  they  went  about  to  stone  him,  they 
said,  "  because  thou,  being  a  man  makest  thyself  God." 
Now  if  Jesus  really  was  God,  and  meant  so  to  teach  the 
people,  why  did  he  not  assert  the  fact  in  the  face  of  his 
ibes?  Why  did  he  not  tell  them.  Sirs,  I  am  God  ;  and 
if  I  have  made  myself  God,  I  have  only  told  the  truth, 
and  claimed  to  be  what  I  am?  Was  he  awed  by  his 
>nf.mies,  so  that  he  dared  not  maintain  in  their  presence 
the  position  that  he  had  assumed?  I  will  not  believe 
It.  The  truth  was  he  did  not  claim  to  be  God,  and 
when  the  Jews  accused  him  of  making  himself  God,  he 
showed  them  from  their  own  scriptures,  that  he  had 
done  no  such  thing.  I  ask  again;  did  he  prevaricate 
3* 


30  UNIIY   OF    GOD. 

here,  and  recede  from  his  position  ?  or  did  he  give  the 
true  meaning  ci"  his  words  ?  If  he  gave  the  true  intent 
of  his  words,  then  the  Jews  charged  him  falsely,  when 
they  said,  he  made  himself  God ;  and  it  is  settled  for  ever 
by  his  own  authority,  that  m  all  his  conversation  with 
the  Jews,  he  claimed  to  be  God  in  no  other  sense,  than 
that  in  which  their  laAV  called  those  gods,  to  whom  the 
word  of  God  came. 

That  he  intended  not  to  claim  an  absolute  equality, 
or  identity  with  God  when  he  said,  "I  and  my  Father 
are  one,"  is  further  evinced,  in  the  fact,  that  he  prayed 
that  his  disciples  might  be  one  even  as  he  and  his  Father 
were  one.  "  Holy  Father  keep  through  thine  own  name 
those  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  that  they  may  be  one, 
as  we  are  one."  It  is  therefore  evident,  that  he  claimed 
no  other  oneness  with  God,  than  that  which  it  was  pos- 
sible for  a  number  of  men  to  possess  with  one  another. 

The  believers  could  be  one  in  spirit,  one  in  purpose, 
and  one  in  heart.  Jesus  had  no  will  but  that  of  God. 
His  meat  and  his  drink  was  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and 
ihe  spirit  of  the  Lord  dwelt  richly  in  him.  In  this  sense 
and  this  only,  he  and  his  Father  were  one.  I  shall  not 
nave  time,  in  this  discourse,  to  examine  any  other  pas- 
sages of  this  kind,  nor  do  I  conceive  such  a  work  neces- 
sary. If  the  passage  I  have  had  under  consideration,  does 
not  prove  the  identity  of  Jesus  with  God,  I  apprehend 
it  will  be  difficult  to  find  one  that  does,  and  I  therefore 
rest  it  here. 

We  believe  in  one,  and  but  one  God,  because  the 
eternal  Father  says  he  is  God  and  there  is  none  else — 
because  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  worshipped  him, 
as  one  and  undivided,  during  a  period  of  four  thousand 
years — because  Jesus  himself  worshipped  him,  as  the 
Great  Supreme,  and  confessed  his  supremacy  by  praying 


UNITY    OF   GOD.  31 

to  him  as  the  only  living  God,  and  father  of  all — and 
because  the  apostles  and  disciples  of  Jesus,  acknow- 
ledged but  one  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

We  believe,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  "  a  man  ap- 
proved of  God,  by  signs  and  miracles  and  wonders, 
which  God  did  by  him,  in  the  midst  of  the  people  " — 
because  the  apostles  called  him  so — and  because  he 
himself  said  he  was  the  son  of  man,  and  prayed  like 
a  man,  spoke  like  a  man,  felt  like  a  man,  was  tempted 
like  a  man,  and  at  last  died  like  a  man,  and  was  raised 
from  the  dead  to  prove  that  man  Avould  rise.  His  office 
was  that  of  mediator  between  God  and  man. 

A  mediator  is  a  middle  person,  who  stands  between 
two  persons  that  are  strangers  to  make  them  acquainted 
with  one  another.  Man  was  estranged  from  his  God, 
He  had  wandered  far  from  his  ways,  and  is  described  as 
"having  no  hop€,  and  without  God  in  the  world."  It 
was  the  business  of  the  mediator  to  reveal  the  true  God. 
and  make  man  acquainted  with  his  father,  and  thus 
bring  him  back  to  that  allegiance  which  he  owed  to  him 
as  God  over  all,  blessed  and  blessing  for  evermore.  Bui 
of  this  I  may  say  more  at  another  time. 

The  doctrine  of  the  simple  unity  of  God,  is  of  great 
importance-  It  has  a  vast  influence  upon  the  spirituality 
and  the  sincerity  of  divine  worship.  The  man  who 
looks  upon  God,  as  one  and  undivided,  can  bow  in  the 
singleness  of  his  heart  before  him,  and  worship  in  spirit 
and  in  truth. 

Not  so  the  man  who  worships  a  God  who  is  veiled 
in  an  incomprehensible  mystery.  If  he  adores  the  jus- 
tice of  God,  it  is  at  the  expense  of  a  Saviour's  mercy: 
or  if  he  magnifies  the  riches  of  a  Saviour's  compassion, 
it  is  at  the  expense  of  a  Father's  justice,  and  thus  the 
mind  is  left  to  vascilate  upon  the  question,  which  among 


32  UNIIY   OF   GOD. 

the  three  is  most  worthy;  and  the  affections  are  act 
easily  fixed  supremely  upon  either.  Thus  the  flame  of 
love  supreme  to  God,  which  ought  to  burn  with  bright- 
ness upon  the  altar  of  the  heart,  is  quenched,  and  the 
incense  of  praise  is  arrested  in  its  upward  course  to 
heaven.  "  No  man  can  serve  two  masters,"  was  the 
doctrine  of  Jesus,  and  we  do  no  violence  to  the  spirit  of 
the  passage  if  we  say,  that  no  man  can  in  sincerity  and 
truth,  worship  supremely  hvo,  much  less  three  Gods,  and 
the  truth  of  the  position  is  clearly  demonstrated  m  the 
case  of  believers  in  the  Trinity. 

I  envy  not  that  man  his  discernment,  who  has  not 
discovered,  that  although  the  believers  in  the  Trinity 
contend  in  words,  for  the  strict  identity,  unity  and  per- 
fect equality  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  yet  in 
their  worship,  they  are  far  from  making  them  one  or 
equa?y  in  point  of  power  or  worth.  When  they  address 
the  Saviour,  it  is  with  the  liveliest  joy,  ana  it  is  easy  to 
perceive  that  he  shares  far  more  largely  in  their  affec- 
tions, than  the  Father  or  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  if  there 
was  no  God  but  him,  they  would  trust  him  without  a 
doubt  or  a  fear.  But  when  they  address  the  Father,  it 
is  in  a  different  strain  entirely.  He  is  an  austere  and 
hard  master,  to  Avhose  goodness  they  are  afraid  to  ap- 
peal;  and  hence,  they  rarely  ask  any  thing  of  him  for 
his  ovm  g&odness^  sake ;  but  they  ask  him  to  heed  the 
intercessions  and  groans  and  blood,  of  his  more  compas- 
sionate Son,  and  to  spare  and  give  for  his  sake.  The 
Holy  Ghost  is  rarely  directly  addressed  at  all,  but  Jesus 
and  God  the  Father,  are  besought  to  send  down  the  Holy 
Ghost,  thus  making  the  third  person  in  this  professedly 
equal  trinity,  a  kind  of  subordinate,  who  does  the  bid- 
ding of  the  first  and  second.  "No  man  can  serve  two 
masters,  for  either  he  will  love  the  one  and  hate  the 


UiMTY   OF   GOD.  33 

Other,  or  else  ne  will  hold  to  the  one  and  despise  the 
other."  For  this  reason  the  idea  of  a  Trinity  is  destruc- 
tive of  real,  pure,  heartfelt  devotion,  to  one  only  living 
and  true  God. 

Nor  is  the  doctrine  of  the  humanity  of  Jesus  one  of 
small  moment.  In  our  judgement  the  name  of  Christ 
ought  not  to  be  made  a  stumblingblock  to  the  Jews,  by 
being  presented  as  claiming  equality  with  him  who 
claims  to  be  God  alone.  Such  a  course  does  much  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  infidel  and  cause  him  to 
glory  in  his  rejection  of  the  GospeL  The  deist  says,  "I 
adore  the  God  of  nature.  I  see  his  name  in  characters  of 
livino-  light  and  glory  upon  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven; 
and  in  those  worlds  and  systems  of  worlds,  that  throng 
the  immensity  of  space.  I  see  his  goodness  upon  the 
earth,  and  in  the  order  of  his  providence,  and  I  love  and 
adore  him.  But  look  yonder,  to  the  cross,  and  in  the 
agony  of  death  you  behold  the  christian's  God.  He  died 
like  a  man  !  Nay,"  says  he,  "  I  cannot  worship  such  a 
God."  If  the  trinitarian  replies,  that  his  God  did  not  die, 
but  that  it  was  the  human  nature  only  that  died  ;  the  an- 
swer of  the  deist  is  ready.  "  Your  system  makes  an  m- 
finite  atonement  necessary ;  and  if  t"he  man  only  died, 
then  you  have  no  infinite  atonement,  and  your  whole 
scherne  of  salvation  is  good  for  nothing."  Thus  reason* 
the  infidel,  and  what,  I  ask,  have  the  whole  host  of 
trinitarians  ever  done  toward  meeting  the  argument  ? 
Nothing,  absolutely  nothing. 

But  I  meet  the  infidel  here.  I  tell  him  he  is  wrong  in 
the  very  outset  of  his  argument.  Jesus  of  Naza'reih  never 
claimed  to  be  the  self  existent  God.  He  said  he  was 
the  son  of  man.  When  therefore,  you  point  me  to  the 
■cross  and  tell  me  that  my  God  died  there,  I  say  it  is  not 
60.     Jesus  is  mv  Teacher,  my  Guide,  my  examplar,  my 


54-  UNITY  if  GOIX 

Master  and  my  Saviour,  but  he  is  not  my  God;  ani  all 
your  reasonings  upon  t  lat  supposition,  go  wide  of  the 
truth,  for  your  premises  \re  wrong. 

Again,  ihe  influence  of  the  example  of  Christ,  is 
greatly  weakened  upon  those  who  view  him  as  God. 
We  may  point  to  his  example,  his  patience,  forbearance, 
long-suffering,  kindness,  mercy  and  truth,  and  exhort  our 
fellows  to  be  like  him ;  but  the  excuse  will  be  ready.  Oh ! 
he  is  a  God,  and  you  cannot  expect  us  to  be  like  him. 
Give  me  leave  to  say,  with  the  apostle,  that  he  is  the 
"man  Christ  Jesus,  and  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we 
are,"  and  then  I  leave  man  without  a  cloak  for  his  sins. 

I  present  an  illustrious  example  of  human  excellence, 
and  demonstrate  the  fact,  that  humanity  can  gain  the 
victory  over  every  unhallowed  lust  and  passion.  I  thus 
fire  the  soul  with  emulation,  by  giving  man  to  know 
that  there  are  in  his  own  nature  capabilities,  to  which 
he  was  a  stranger  before,  and  the  mind  is  filled  with 
gratitude  when  it  sees  that  God  has  stooped  from  his 
throne  and  raised  man  to  the  dignity  of  being  the  instru- 
ment of  Salvation  to  the  world. 

Still  again,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  from  the  dead 
IS  dependent  for  its  interest  and  power,  upon  the  fact, 
that  he  was  what  the  apostle  called  him,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus.  His  resurrection  from  the  dead  is  given  us,  as 
the  proof  that  man  shall  rise  also.  Paul  goes  so  far  as 
to  rest  it  all  here.  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen,  your  faith  is 
vain,  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins.  Then  they  that  are  fallen 
asleep  in  Christ,  are  perished."  But  the  resurrection  of 
a  God  could  give  no  assurance  that  man  shall  rise.  But 
when  we  are  told  that  he  is  the  ma/i  Christ  Jesus,  and 
understand  that  he  is  "bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of 
our  flesh,"  and  then  view  him  in  the  brightness  of  his 
risen  glory,  the  conqueror  of  death,  the  truth  bursts  with 


UNi-'^V  OI     iOD.  35 

full  radiance  upon  the  mind,  for  it  is  demonstrated,  by 
actual  experiment,  that  Jmmanity  is  destined  to  burst 
the  bars  of  death,  and  rise  triumphant  from  the  spoil- 
er's power.  All  this  is  dependent  upon  the  fact,  that  he 
is  what  the  Apostle  calls  him  in  the  text. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  these  views  are  calculated  to 
degrade  the  Saviour  in  the  estimation  of  the  world,  or 
to  undennine  the  foundations  of  confidence  in  his  power 
to  save.  His  example  and  character  are  not  the  less 
lovely  because  presented  in  the  person  of  our  elder 
brother  ;  nor  is  his  power  less  efficacious  because  he  re- 
ceived it  from  his  Father  and  our  Father,  from  his  God 
dnd  our  God.  I  love  the  Saviour,  "  as  the  brightness  of 
the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  imageof  his  person." 
I  revere  him,  as  the  perfect  pattern  of  virtue  and  holi- 
ness. I  respect  him,  as  the  being  upon  whom  God  has 
conferred  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth;  and  I  trust 
him,  as  the  conquering  King  of  Zion,  whose  arm  shall 
not  be  shortened  until  it  has  rescued  the  last  child  of 
sin  from  the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  established  the 
empire  of  holiness  and  bliss,  on  the  ruins  of  sin  and  suf- 
fering. Honour  and  glory  be  to  Him  who  hath  "  saved 
us,  and  washed  us  in  the  washing  of  regeneration," 
Glory  be  to  Him  who  hath  loved  us,  and  died,  that  he 
might  return  us  to  God  ;  and  who  will  not  faint  or  grow 
weary  until  a  world  shall  be  brought  home  to  holiness 
and  bliss.  I  say,  with  the  full  heart,  glory  and  honour 
be  to  Jesus,  the  Saviour ;  but  I  must  say,  "  Glorv  to 
God  in  the  highest,"  that,  on  earth,  there  is  "  peace  and 
goodwill  to  men."  He  is  God  and  beside  Him  there  is 
none  else ;  and  I  cannot,  I  dare  not,  have  any  other  God 
before  Him.  I  leave  this  subject  with  you,  and  I  pray 
you,  remember  that  word  which  saith  unto  you,  as  it 
said  to  Israel  of  old:  "Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve." 


\TONEMfiNT. 


SERMON   ]  II. 
ATONEMENT. 

"  He  that  justifleth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  condemneth  the  just,  even  they 
both  are  abomination  to  the  Lord."  Proverbs  xvii.  15. 

Invariable  equity  a-nd  strict  impartial  justice  are  the 
first  principles  of  the  divine  government,  and  always 
mark  the  ways  of  God  to  man.  When  a  man  sins, 
justice  req-uires  that  he  should  be  punished,  and  accord- 
ingly, we  find  that  God  has  so  arranged  the  order  of  his 
government  that  punishment,  sooner  or  later,  comes 
fearfully  upon,  the  head  of  the  guilty.  On  the  other 
hand,  justice  requires  that  the  man  who  does  good, 
should  be  rewarded ;  and,  accordingly,  we  find,  in  our 
experience,  that  there  is  a  rich  and  sweet  reward  in  the 
practice  of  virtue.  The  scriptures  everywhere  teach 
that  God  is  just,  and  they  promise  us,  with  the  most 
solemn  certainty,  that  the  man  who  gives  even  a  cup 
of  water  to  a  famishing  brother,  shall  in  no  case  lose  his 
reward.  In  like  manner,  they  assure  us,  with  the  same 
certainty,  that  the  man  who  does  wrong  shall  receive 
the  reward  of  his  doings,  and,  "  though  hand  join  in 
hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished."  There  are 
no  principles  in  theology  which  are  capable  of  exer- 
cising a  more  controlling  influence  upon  human  conduct 
than  these.  It  is  important,  also,  that  there  should  be 
a  certainty  and  definiteness  about  them  which  shall 
leave  no  room  for  a  doubt,  on  either  side.  That  man 
labours  with  a  strong  hand  and  a  cheerful  mind,  who 


ATO^•EME^'T.  37 

reels  that  his  reward  is  sure;  and  that  man  hesitates  to 
do  an  evil  act,  who  knows  that  1"  e  cannot  escape  the  just 
punishment  of  his  sins. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  influence  of  these  things,  let 
us  suppose  that  here  is  a  man  who  has  a  number  of 
workmen  in  his  employ.  To  the  faithful  and  obedient, 
he  pays  a  liberal  rewa.d  for  their  labours;  but  he  never 
pays  the  man  who  does  not  labour.  Every  one  in  his 
employ  knows,  perfectly  well,  that,  if  he  performs  his 
duty,  his  reward  is  sure,  and  he  will  receive  it,  to  the  ut- 
termost farthing.  He  also  knows,  with  equal  certainty, 
that,  in  case  he  is  unfaithful  and  disobedient,  his  punish.- 
ment  is  sure  and  inevitable ;  for  his  employer  will  iu  nO' 
case  suffer  with  impunity  an  infraction  of  his  orders^  It- 
is  easy  for  any  one  to  see,  that  the  efi'ect  will  be,  a. 
cheerful  and  willing  obedience,  and  a  faithful  discharge 
of  duty. 

But  let  us  vary  the  figure.  Let  us  suppose  that  this- 
man  refuses  to  pay  the  labourer  his  hire,  and  that  he. 
makes  no  difference  between  those  that  serve  him  well, 
and  those  that  serve  him  not.  He  even  goes  farther 
than  this.  He  bestows  the  wages  of  the  faithful  upon, 
the  unfaithful ;  and  when  one  labourer  has  transgressed,, 
instead  of  punishing  the  transgressor,  he  chastises  some 
innocent  man,  and  lets  the  guilty  go  free.  The  labour- 
ers begin  to  reason  in  this  way:  "If  I  am  faithful  to 
my  duty,  there  is  no  certainty  that  I  shall  receive  my 
pay,  for  my  employer  would  as  soon  give  the  reward  of 
my  toil  to  the  indolent  as  to  me ;  and  if  I  transgress,  he 
will  not  punish  me,  but  will  inflict  the  penalty  of  my, 
fault  upon  some  innocent  man."  I  need  not  name  the 
result  of  such  a  state  of  things;  for  the  child  can  see  at 
a  glance,  that  the  strong  arm  would  be  unstrung,  and. 
the  labourers  would  be  perfectly  indiff*erent  whether- 
4 


38  ATONEMENT. 

they  were  faithful  or  unfaithful  to  their  duty.  If  they 
were  faithful,  there  would  be  no  certainty  of  reward ; 
and  they  would  be  in  constant  danger  of  having  visited 
upon  their  heads,  \.\e  punishment  due  to  the  unfaithful. 
If  they  were  guilty,  they  would  know  that  a«aother,  and 
not  themselves,  must  suffer  for  their  guilt. 

This  similitude,  though  homely,  is  a  just  representa 
tion  of  the  influence  of  men's  views  of  the  government 
of  God.  The  world  needs  confidence  in  the  justice  of 
its  God.  Man  wants  to  knov/  that  the  Great  Governor 
of  the  universe  will  do  right — that  he  will  render  unto 
every  man  according  to  his  deeds.  He  needs  to  be  con- 
fident that,  if  he  does  right,  his  reward  is  certain,  and 
he  is  in  no  danger  of  being  condemned  for  the  sins  of 
another.  He  needs  also  to  know,  that,  if  he  does 
wrong,  he  shall  suffer  for  the  wrong  that  he  has  done, 
and  that  God  will  not  inflict  the  punishment  for  his  guilt 
upon  the  head  of  some  innocent  one,  and  suffer  him  to 
escape. 

I  make  these  remarks,  because  there  is  extensively 
prevalent,  in  the  world,  a  doctrine  which  unsettles  the 
foundations  of  firm  confidence  in  the  justice  of  God, 
and  leads  men  to  question  the  equity  of  his  govern- 
ment. It  makes  men  fear  that  they  will  not  find  a  re- 
ward in  Avell-doing :  and  hope  to  escape  the  punish- 
ment of  their  evil  deeds,  and  thus  it  discourages  the 
virtuous,  and  encourages  the  vicious.  The  doctrine  to 
which  I  allude,  is  known  among  theologians,  under  the 
name  of  "  Vicarious  Atonement,"  and  is  as  follows;  It 
supposes  all  men  to  be  placed,  by  nature  and  practice, 
•under  the  curse  of  a  broken  law,  whose  penalty  is  end- 
less condemnation  and  death ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
utterly  unable,  of  themselves,  to  fulfil  the  divine  re- 
^uip-jments,  or  make  a  particle  of  restitution  for  offences 


ATONEMENT.  39 

already  committed.  God  was  indisposed  to  mitigate 
he  sentence  he  had  passed,  or  abate  a  fraction  from  the 
full  penalty  of  the  broken  law ;  but  was  fully  deter- 
mined to  exact  the  last  mite.  The  sinner  had  nothing 
to  pay,  and  could,  of  course,  do  nothing  toward  releas- 
ing himself  Fortunately,  however,  Jesus  interposed 
and  took  the  payment  of  the  debt  upon  himself,  and 
proposed  to  suffer  in  the  room  and  stead  of  the  sinner. 
It  was  done,  and,  according  to  Dr.  Watts, 

"  He  quenched  his  father's  flaming  sword 
In  his  own  vital  blood." 

Atonement  is  therefore  defined  by  Buck  to  be:  "The 
satisfying  of  divine  justice,  by  Jesus  Christ  giving  hin> 
self  a  ransom  for  us,  undergoing  the  penalty  due  to  sm, 
and  thus  releasing  us  from  that  punishment  which  God 
might  justly  have  inflicted  upon  us."  This  is  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement  as  it  is  generally  held,  and  you  will 
recollect  that  I  named  it,  in  my  first  lecture,  as  a  point 
upon  which  we  differ  from  the  common  opinion.  I  also 
intimated  that  I  should,  at  some  future  time,  take  it  up  at 
large.  In  fulfilment  of  that  pledge,  I  propose  to  make 
it  the  principal  topic  of  the  present  discourse. 

In  the  definition  of  atonement,  just  quoted,  you  will 
perceive  we  are  told,  with  sufficient  plainness,  that 
Christ  actually  suffered  the  punishment  which  was  due 
the  sinner  in  his  rooju  and  steady  and  thus  released  us 
from  the  punishment  justly  our  due.  Now  I  ask,  what 
was  the  punishment  which  was  due  the  sinner  ?  The 
answer  is,  it  was  condemnation  and  death.  And  did 
God  condemn  Christ  as  a  sinner,  and  treat  him  as  such  ? 
So  says  the  doctrine  in  hand.  And  was  Jesus  in  reality 
a  sinntr  ?    No,  for  he  is  called  the  just  and  holy  one, 


40  ATONEMENT. 

and  no  guile  was  found  in  his  heart.  And  yet  Gal  con- 
demned him,  and  punished  him  as  a  vile  sinner !  !  If 
this  be  so,  then  I  say,  it  is  as  evident  as  mathematical 
demonstration  could  make  it,  that  God  has  "  condemned 
the  just  f'"*  and  what  does  our  text  say  about  condemn- 
ing the  just  ?  H.;ar  it,  and  blush  for  that  folly  which 
will  thus  traduce  the  name  of  a  God  of  justice.  "  He 
that  condemneth  the  just  is  an  abomination  to  the 
Lord."  There  is  no  chance  for  an  evasion  here:  for,  if 
it  be  true,  that  it  is  an  abomination  to  God  to  condemn 
the  just,  and  yet  he  has  condemned  the  just,  then  he 
has  done  a  thing  which  he  abominates.  But,  if  he  has 
not  "condemned  the  just,"  then  the  doctrine  of  vicari- 
ous atonement  is  a  fable. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  doctrine  in  question  teaches 
that  God  not  merely  "condemns  the  just,"  but  he  also 
justifies  the  wicked.  It  tells  us  that,  in  consequence  of 
Christ's  suffering  for  us,  God  releases  the  sinner  from 
the  punishment  that  is  justly  his  due.  If  this  be  true, 
it  needs  no  argument  to  prove  that  God  has  done  an- 
other thing  Avhich  he  abominates.  He  condemns  the 
just,  in  the  first  instance,  and  then  he  justifies  and  re- 
ceives, as  just  and  pure,  the  vilest  trangressor  of  his  law, 
and  suff'ers  him  to  escape  all  punishment.  What  does 
our  text  say  of  such  things  ?  Hear  it,  yet  once  more,  I 
beseech  you,  and  remember  it  for  your  good.  "  He  that 
condemneth  the  just,  and  he  that  justifieth  the  wicked, 
even  they  both,  are  abomination  to  the  Lord." 

I  ought  not  to  leave  this  subject,  without  adverting  to 
another  doctrine,  which  seems  to  have  been  invented  on 
purpose  to  hide  the  deformity  of  the  one  of  which  we 
have  been  treating. 

I  allude  to  the  do-!trine  of  "  imputation."  Buck  de- 
fines it  thus:  "God's  most  gracious  donation  of  the 


ATONEMENT.  41 

rigftteousness  of  Christ  to  believers,  and  nis  accepianue 
of  their  persons  as  righteous,  on  account  thereof;  their 
sins,  being  imputed  to  him,  and  his  righteousness  being 
imputed  to  them,  they  are,  in  virtue  thereof,  both  ac- 
quitted from  guilt,  and  accepted  as  righteous."  This 
is  the  doctrine  of  imputation  and  it  is  thought  to  relieve 
the  doctrine  of  atonement  from  the  charge  of  injustice. 
Thus,  it  is  said,  that  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  were 
imputed  to  Christ,  and,  resting  under  this  imputation, 
he  might  justly  be  condemned  as  a  sinner.  So,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed  lo 
the  sinner,  and,  therefore,  there  is  no  injustice  in  receiv- 
ing him  as  a  righteous  man. 

It  must  be  confessed,  that  the  inventors  of  this  doc- 
trine (for  it  is  no  more  than  invention  of  man)  are  enti- 
tled to  some  credit  for  ingenuity  in  forming  a  sentiment 
to  get  out  of  a  difficulty.  Unfortunately,  however,  the 
doctrine  has  no  foundation,  either  in  scripture,  reason, 
or  fact.  The  truth  is,  that  righteousness  is  not  a  com- 
modity that  can  be  transferred  from  one  to  another,  as  a 
piece  of  merchandize  ;  neither  is  guilt  a  thing  that  can 
be  passed  from  man  to  man.  They  are  both  personal 
matters— things  which  pertain  to  individuals,  and  can- 
not be  separated  from  them.  I  cannot  b€  virtuous  foi 
my  friend,  nor  can  he  be  virtuous  for  me.  To  our  own 
Master,  we  must  stand  or  fall  for  ourselves.  The  same 
is  true  of  guilt.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  things,  and  in  the 
government  of  God,  as  utterly  impossible,  for  one  man 
to  assume  another's  guilt,  as  it  is  to  assume  his  righte- 
ousness, and  there  is  no  more  folly  in  one  man's  attempt- 
mg  to  eat  and  drink  and  sleep  for  another,  than  in  at- 
tempting to  be  virtuous  or  sinful  for  another.  Suppose, 
for  example,  there  is  a  foul  murder  committed  in  this 
city.  Is  there  a  man  among  you  who  would  allow  that 
4* 


42  ATONEMENT. 

the  guilt  of  that  murder  could  be  transferred  to  you, 
and  you  be  justly  punished  for  a  crime  you  did  not  com- 
mit ?  No,  not  one.  And  if  any  man  should  intimate 
that  you  were  guilty  of  the  crime,  you  would  hurl  the 
imputation  from  you  as  a  foul  and  disgraceful  libel. 
Should  he  insist  that  the  sin  was  imputed  to  you,  and 
your  character  imputed  to  the  real  murderer,  you  would 
say  at  once,  that  the  thing  was  impossible,  and  that  hav- 
ing committed  no  crime,  you  could  not,  upon  any  princi- 
ple of  justice,  be  counted  guilty.  Suppose  our  state 
authority  should  arrest  an  innocent  man,  and  execute 
him,  while  the  murderer  went  free — it  would  be  pro- 
nounced, by  every  man  in  community,  a  shameless  and 
graceless  outrage  upon  every  principle  of  justice,  and  a 
disgrace  to  humanity.  Men  might  plead  as  much  as 
they  pleased,  that  the  murder  was  imputed  to  the  inno- 
cent man  and  he  was  willing  to  assume  it,  and  that  the 
state  had  made  a  "most  gracious  donation"  of  the  good 
man's  character  to  the  murderer :  and  the  innocent  man, 
suffering  in  his  stead,  would  release  him  from  the  pun- 
ishment which  the  state  had  a  right  to  inflict  upon  him, 
and  what  would  such  pleas  avail  ?  They  would  be 
scouted  from  community,  as  the  visions  of  a  disordered 
brain,  and  we  should  be  told  that  our  system  of  juris- 
prudence recognized,  as  a  first  principle,  that  crime  is 
not  transferable,  that  the  guilty  alone  must  suffer  for 
their  guilt,  and  that  it  is  a  foul  abomination  in  the  sight 
of  God  to  condemn  the  just  and  punish  them  for  the 
sins  of  the  wicked.  We  should  be  told,  that  the  wise 
and  prudent  have  so  strongly  maintained  this  principle, 
as  to  establish  it  as  an  axiom,  that  it  is  better  for  ten  guil- 
ty men  to  escape  than  for  one  innocent  person  to  suffer. 
Thus  men  reason,  for  they  can  reason  well  enough  in 
every  thing  else  but  religion.     Eut  the  moment  we  turn 


ATONEMENl.  43 

our  attention  to  theology,  all  these  principles  are  violated, 
and  we  are  presented  as  a  first  article  of  faith,  a  doc- 
trine, which  makes  God  do  those  very  things  which  in 
men  we  despise  and  condemn,  and  which  he  himself 
pronounces  an  abomination  in  his  sight.  In  the  first 
place,  he  is  made  to  condemn  Jesus,  he  just,  and  inllicl 
upon  his  head  the  punishment  of  tae  guilty,  that  he 
may  justify  the  wicked;  and  then,  to  shield  him  from 
the  charge  of  injustice,  he  is  made  to  do  what  neither 
God  nor  man  ever  could  do,  transfer  the  guilt  of  sin,  as 
well  as  its  punishment,  to  the  innocent,  and  the  righte- 
ousness of  the  righteous,  to  the  wicked.  Why,  in  the 
name  of  reason,  do  men,  who  hold  such  views,  find  fault 
with  the  Catholic  for  believing  in  works  of  supereroga- 
tion ?  It  was  long,  you  know,  a  favorite  doctrine  of  the 
Catholic  church,  that  all  the  works  done  by  the  saints, 
over  and  above  what  was  strictly  required,  went  into  a 
sort  of  general  fund,  from  which  others  might  make  up  the 
deficiencies  of  their  own  virtue.  Thus,  a  portion  of  this 
righteousness  could  be  imputed  to  others,  and  they  re- 
ceive its  reward.  Protestants  have  long  since  repudia- 
ted that  doctrine  as  unjust,  false,  and  pernicious ;  and 
yet,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  a  fraction  of  dijSference  be- 
tween that  and  the  common  doctrine  of  atonement, 
so  far  as  the  principle  of  the  thmg  is  concerned.  In 
fact,  it  is  the  same  doctrine  carried  out  to  its  legitimate 
results  and  tendencies.  If  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
can  be  transferred  to  me,  so  may  that  of  Peter,  or  Paul, 
or  any  other  man:  and,  if  the  punishment  of  my  sins 
may  be  justly  inflicted  upon  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  by 
the  same  rule,  it  may  be  inflicted  upon  any  of  my 
hearers.  The  truth  is,  the  whole  system  of  vicarious 
atonement  is  ^/rong — an  outrage  up.9u  all  justice  and 
right,  and,  as  such,  is  pronounced  by  the  voice  oi 


§4  A-TOI^EJIENT. 

inspiraiion,  "  an  abomination  in  the  sight  Df  the 
Lord." 

That  Jesus  died  upon  the  cross  is  beyond  all  question; 
that  he  died  for  the  world,  is  equally  certain,  from  the 
divine  testimony ;  but  that  he  died  a  vicarious  sacrifice^ 
to  appease  the  wrath,  satisfy  the  justice,  or  secure  the 
favor  of  God,  and  the  escape  of  the  guilty,  is  most  un- 
equivocally denied.  God  asks  no  blood  of  bulls  or  goats, 
much  less  the  blood  of  his  own  Son,  to  render  him  mer- 
ciful or  good.  The  sacrifice  of  a  broken  and  contrite 
heart  is  all  that  the  Lord  our  God  requires;  and  to  sum 
up  the  whole  in  a  few  words,  my  objections  to  the  doc- 
trine of  vicarious  atonement  are — that  it  is  unjust  in 
theory,  impossible  in  fact,  and  pernicious  in  practice. 
It  is  unjust,  because  it  punishes  the  innocent  for  the 
guilty,  and  suffers  the  wicked  to  escape  on  account  of 
the  shedding  of  innocent  blood;  whereas,  the  rule  of 
heaven's  justice  is,  that  every  man  shall  suffer  for 
his  own  sim,  and  that  God  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty.  It  is  impossible  in  fact,  because  righteousness 
and  guilt  cannot  be  transferred  from  one  to  another 
and  the  sufferings  of  the  innocent  cannot  satisfy  that 
justice  which  requires  that  the  guilty  alone  shall  suffer. 
It  is  pernicious  in  practice,  because  it  encourages  men 
on  in  sin,  by  fostering  the  delusive  hope  that  there  is  an 
easy  way  to  escape  from  the  punishment  threatened 
against  those  who  transgress. 

It  tells  men,  in  effect,  no  matter  how  sinful  they  are. 
Though  wicked  as  Cain,  and  corrupt  as  Mary  Magdalen, 
with  her  seven  devils,  Jesus  has  paid  the  debt  for  them, 
and  they  can,  at  any  time,  on  application  to  him,  obtain 
a  discharge  from  all  the  claims  of  the  divine  justice,  and 
an  imputation  of  his  righteousness,  Avhich  will  enable 
fhem  to  stand  uncondemned  in  the  sight  of  a  pure  and 


ATONLMEx\T.  46 

holy  G-od.  The  effect  of  such  views  can  but  be  bad 
upon  the  practice  of  men. 

I  have  before  said,  that  there  is  no  question  upon  the 
subject  of  the  death  of  Christ  for  the  world,  so  far  as  the 
fact  itself  is  concerned.  The  only  dispute  is  upon  the 
nature  and  object  of  his  death.  At  some  future  time  I 
purpose  to  make  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ  the 
subject  of  a  discourse.*  I  cannot,  therefore,  dwell  upon 
that  point  now.  For  the  present,  it  may  suffice  to  say, 
that  Jesus  found  the  world  in  darkness,  sin,  and  igno- 
rance, and  his  object  was  to  enlighten,  purify,  and  in- 
struct them.  He  knew  that  his  testimony  would  cost 
him  labor  and  suffering,  and  e\'^en  his  life.  Yet  he  did 
not  hesitate,  but  gave  himself  and  all  his  powers  to  the 
work,  and  at  last  bowed  his  head  and  died  upon  the 
cross,  that  he  might  seal  his  mission  with  his  blood,  and 
in  his  resurrection  prove  it  all  divine. 

But  the  hearer  will  inform  me  that  he  certainly  reads 
of  an  atonement  in  the  Xew  Testament,  and  he  will  de- 
sire to  know  what  we  are  to  understand  by  that  term. 
I  suspect,  after  all  you  have  read  about  an  atonement  in 
the  G-ospel,  you  will  find,  on  a  moment's  reflection,  that 
you  have  heard  much  more  about  it  from  the  prea-cher 
than  you  have  read  in  the  Bible.  Will  it  surprise  the 
hearer  if  I  tell  him  that  the  word  atonement  is  not  to  be 
found  but  once  in  all  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  ? 
Such  is  the  fact ;  and  I  presume  you  will  now  agree 
with  me  in  saying  that  you  were  mistaken  in  the  sup- 
position, that  you  had  read  much  upon  that  subject  in 
the  sacred  book.  In  the  5th  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  at  the  ilth  verse,  you  may  find  the  word 
atonement.  It  reads  thus:  "And  not  only  so,  but  we 
joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  also 
we  have  now  received  t.ie  atonement."    You  have  now 


46  ATONEMENT. 

before  you  ihe  only  passage  in  the-  New  Testament  m 
which  the  word  atonement  is  used;  and  much  as  you 
thought  you  had  read  about  it  there,  I  pledge  you  my 
truth  that  you  have  read  just  that  one  verse,  and  no 
more.  What  is  still  more  remarkable,  is  the  fact,  that 
the  atonement  there  mentioned  is  something  that  the 
Apostle,  and  not  God,  had  received.  The  common  view 
of  atonement  makes  it  a  satisfactfon  which  God  receives 
for  the  breach  of  his  law.  But  the  Apostle  says,  "We 
joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we 
have  now  received  the  atonement."  This  is  certainly 
the  very  reverse  of  the  popular  manner  of  speaking  of 
an  atonement.  The  atonement  is  thought  to  have  been 
made  to  God,  and  to  be  received  and  accepted  by  him. 
But  here  the  Aposile  speaks  of  it  as  something  that  he 
and  his  brethren  had  received.  The  whole  difficulty,  if 
there  is  any  in  the  case,  will  be  removed  when  you  are 
informed,  that  although  the  word  "atonement"  occurs 
but  once  in  the  Nev/  Testament,  yet  the  same  original 
word  occurs  frequently,  and,  except  in  this  instance,  is 
uniformly  rendered  "  reconciliation  ;"  and  it  evidently 
might  better  have  been  so  rendered  in  this  passage.  "  We 
joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we 
have  now  received  the  reconciliation."  Here  we  have 
opened  before  us  a  fall  and  correct  view  of  the  Scripture 
doctrine  of  atonement.  Its  simple  meaning  is,  reconcili- 
ation, and  I  need  not  tell  you  that  "reconciliation "to God 
is  the  most  important  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  It  was  to 
reconcile  man  to  his  God,  that  Jesus  came,  and  suffered, 
and  died,  and  rose  again  from  ?he  dead;  and  this,  also, 
was  the  end  and  object  of  all  the  labours,  teachings,  and 
sufferings  of  the  Apostles,  who  took  their  livec.  in  their 
hands  and  went  out  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Jesus.  For 
this  reason  the  Gospel  is  called  the  "  word  of  reconcili- 


ATONEMENT.  47 

atiou,''  and  its  ministry  is  called  "  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliatioa."  Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work  among 
you,  for  I  have  dwelt  long  upon  a  false  and  spurious 
doctrine  of  atonement,  Lnd  I  must  dwell  at  some  length 
upon  this,  the  true  Gospel  of  Christ.  "  Be  ye  reconciled 
to  God,"  is  the  first  and  the  last,  the  highest  and  the  ho- 
liest command  of  the  Gospel;  and  it  evidently  indicates 
that  those  to  whom  it  was  given  were  then  in  a  state  of 
unreconciliation.  Now,  where  there  is  unreconciliation, 
there  is  always  dissatisfaction  or  enmity;  and  this  is  in 
perfect  accordance  with  those  Scriptures  which  speak  of 
the  carnal  mind  as  being  "at  enmity  against  God." 

The  important  idea  with  which  we  must  start,  in  our 
investigation  of  this  matter,  is,  that  it  is  man  who  is  dis- 
satisfied, and  at  enmity  with  God,  and  not  God  who  is 
at  enmity  with  his  creatures.  Here  is  the  radical  defect 
of  all  the  nameless  systems  of  men.  They  start  with 
the  position,  that  God  is  unreconciled  to  man,  and  they 
labour  to  reconcile  him  to  the  world  instead  of  the  world 
unto  him.  If  you  will  examine  the  subject,  you  will  see, 
in  a  moment,  that  not  only  the  false  systems  of  Chris- 
tian lands,  but  all  others,  err  precisely  upon  this  point. 
The  Heathen  have  a  multitude  of  gods,  and  their  vic- 
tims bleed  upon  ten  thousand  altars.  Their  children 
sink  in  the  wave,  their  wives  burn  in  the  flame,  and 
their  ov/n  bodies  are  cast  down  to  be  crushed  beneath 
the  wheels  of  an  idol's  car.  And  what  is  it  all  for  ? 
What  power  is  that  which  puts  this  vast  machine  in 
motion  ?  The  answer  is,  They  think  the  gods  are  un- 
reconciled, and  they  hope  to  reconcile  them  by  these 
painful  rites  and  heart-rending  sacrifices.  The  very 
foundation,  the  main  spring  of  the  whole  system  and 
practice  is,  that  the  gods  need  a  reconciliation.  Chris- 
tians wo,  have  departed  from  th;  corner  stone  that  God 


IS  ATONEMENT. 

liad  laid  in  Zion,  and  have  built  upon  this  same  heathen 
foundation.  Christians,  too,  can  talk  of  an  angry  God, 
and  tell  you  that  heaven's  Lord  and  King  is  unreconciled, 
and  something  must  be  done  to  reconcile  him,  or  the 
damnation  of  hell  will  testify  to  the  extent  and  power 
of  his  hatred.  Now,  this  is  all  wrong.  I  lay  the  axe 
at  the  root  of  the  corrupt  tree,  and  I  testify  unto  you, 
that  God  never  was  and  never  can  be  unreconciled  to 
the  world ;  but  man  is  unreconciled  to  God,  and  needs  a 
reconciliation,  or,  if  you  please,  an  atonement. 

The  very  nature  of  God  is  a  full  and  sufficient  proof 
that  he  can  never  be  unreconciled  to  man,  or  that  if  h( 
were  so,  he  could  never  be  reconciled.  He  is  all-wise 
and  immutable.  He  knew  as  well  before  he  made  man 
what  he  would  be,  and  what  he  would  do,  as  afterward 
When  he  put  forth  his  power  and  called  man  into  ex- 
istence, his  life  and  all  its  acts,  his  character  and  all  its 
shades  of  darkness  and  of  light,  were  as  present  with 
God  as  they  are  now.  God  saw  it  all,  and  in  view  of  it 
all,  he  was  reconciled  to  man,  and  pronounced  him  good, 
yea,  very  good.  Now,  as  God  was  then  reconciled,  and 
as  with  him  there  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of 
turning,  it  must  follow,  that  he  is  now,  and  ever  will  be, 
reconciled  to  man.  Neither  can  any  changes  of  man's 
character  effect  a  change  in  God,  or  make  him  unrecon- 
ciled ;  because  God  knew  all  these  changes  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  had  there  been  any  power  in  them  to  work 
unreconciliation  in  God,  he  would  have  been  unrecon- 
ciled from  the  beginning. 

That  God  is  not  unreconciled  to  man,  is  further  evi- 
dent from  the  fact,  that  his  blessings  are  scattered  daily 
dfound  us,  and  the  whole  history  of  the  world  is  a  his- 
tory of  unearthly  kindness  on  his  part,  and  of  ingrati- 
tude, and  suspicion  on  the  part  of  man.     It  is  evident. 


ATO>'EMENT.  49 

also,  from  the  Scriptures,  which  abound  in  the  stronger- 
expressions  of  love  in  God,  and  which  represent  the 
whole  work  of  reconciliation  as  having  originated  in  God 
and  being  of  him.  The  mission  of  a  Saviour  is  set  forth 
as  originating  in  the  love  of  God,  and  not  as  a  system  of 
means  for  restoring  that  love  after  it  had  been  lost. 
Herein  is  love ;  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he 
loved  us,  and  gave  his  son  for  us.  Besides  all  this, 
these  same  scriptures  tell  us,  that  God  is  reconciling  the' 
world  unto  himself,  and  they  exhort  us,  saying :  "Be 
ye  reconciled  to  God."  But  they  never  speak  of  recon- 
ciling God  to  the  world,  nor  ask  us  to  do  any  thing  to 
that  end,  for  the  best  of  all  possible  reasons,  that  he 
never  was  unreconciled,  and,  of  course,  no  such  work 
was  necessary. 

But  what  is  it  to  be  reconciled  to  God?  I  answer,  it 
is  to  conform  to  the  spirit  of  his  law.  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  Avith  all  thy 
strength,  and  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself: 
on  these  two  commands  hang  all  the  law  and  the  proph- 
ets." Now,  when  a  man  conforms  to  this  law,  he  is 
reconciled  to  God;  but,  while  there  is  hatred  in  the 
mind,  there  must  be  unreconciliation.  The  reason  is 
perfectly  obvious.  "  God  is  love.''  Hatred  is  the  oppo- 
site of  love,  and  there  never  can  be  any  concord  or  agree- 
ment between  the  two.  But,  when  all  hatred  is  purged 
out,  and  man  learns  to  love  God  with  the  whole  heart, 
and  his  neighbour  as  himself,  then  he  becomes  like  God, 
and  there  is  perfect  concord  between  the  two.  Hence 
the  Apostle  says:  "  He  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth 
in  God  and  God  in  him,  for  God  is  love.'  This  is  recon- 
ciliation. 

But  this  is  not  all  that  the  terra  implies.     It  supposes 
5 


50  ATONEIMENT. 

aa  entire  submission  to,  and  satisfaction  with,  God's 
government,  providence,  and  purposes.  The  man  who 
grudgingly  submits  to  God's  government,  because  he 
cannot  avoid  it,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  wishes  that 
ihe  reins  of  government  were  in  his  hands,  cannot 
properly  be  said  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  But  when  a 
man  comes  to  see  that  God  is  good,  in  all  his  works  and 
ways,  and  that  all  his  purposes  are  gracious,  and  he 
would  not  alter  them  if  he  could  ;  then  he  is  reconciled 
to  God,  and  he  can  sentimentally  rejoice  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  universe  is  vested  in  a  being  so  wise, 
so  gracious,  and  so  good.  This  is  reconciliation,  in  its 
full  extent,  and  this  is  the  true  doctrine  of  atonement. 
This  was  the  atonement  which  Paul  had  received 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Before  this  he  had 
been  dissatisfied  that  God  should  suffer  many  things, 
and  he  breathed  out  threatening  and  slaughter.  He  had 
embraced  hard  and  ungracious  views  of  God,  and  he 
felt  unreconciled  to  him  and  his  ways.  But  Jesus  re- 
vealed to  him  the  abundance  of  grace  and  truth,  and 
taught  him  better  views  of  the  economy  of  his  Father's 
grace,  and  by  this  word  he  was  reconciled  to  God.  His 
soul  was  filled  with  love  to  God  and  man,  and  he  con- 
fided in  the  wisdom  of  his  Father  to  do  all  things  well. 
This  is  the  work  of  atonement,  or  reconciliation;  and 
I  cannot  dismiss  the  subject  witho-ut  the  remark,  that 
this  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
It  is  a  doctrine  which  marks  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as 
radically  distinct  from  all  other  systems  of  religion. 
Man  never  yet  made  a  religion,  the  object  of  which 
was  not  to  have  some  influence  upon  the  purposes  or 
disposition  of  God.  Go  the  world  over,  and  you  will 
find  that  all  the  systems  of  paganism  liave  this  object 
in  vieV ,  and  make  it  their  first  business,  by  rites  and 


ATONEMENT.  51 

sacrifices,  to  operate  upon  the  divinity.  Chrislianity 
alone  proclaims  God  in  his  goodness,  and  seeks  only  to 
operate  upon  man.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  pre- 
cisely this  point  now  separates  Universalism.  from  the 
popular  systems  of  the  day.  They  all  have  their  vica- 
rious sacrifices,  by  which  they  seek  to  operate  upon 
God,  and  make  him  more  gracious  than  he  would  other- 
wise have  been.  But  we  raise  our  feeble  voices  and 
cry  aloud,  proclaiming  to  one  and  all,  that  God  is  good 
enough  as  he  is ;  he  needs  no  change  to  make  him  bet- 
ter; but  man,  and  man  alone,  needs  to  be  brought  up  to 
communion  with  God,  and  a  iiearfrelt  reconcilation  tc 
Hun. 


DEATH   OF   CHEIST. 


SERMON    IV. 
DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

■'  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  for  tha 
suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honour,  that  he,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  should  taste  death  for  every  man. 

"  For  it  became  him,  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in 
bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make  the  captain  of  our  salvation  perfect 
through  suffering."  Hebrews  ii.  9,  10. 

In  my  last  discourse,  I  spoke  of  the  doctrine  of  "  vi- 
carious atonement,"  and  endeavoured  to  show  that  it 
was  a  sentiment  unfounded  in  reason,  scripture,  or  fact. 
1  mentioned  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ,  and  at- 
tempted to  show  that  these  were  not  designed  to  placate 
the  wrath,  or  satisfy  the  justice,  of  G-od.  and  thus  open 
a  way  for  the  guilty  to  escape  the  just  punishment  of 
their  sins.  If  these  things  are  granted,  then  the  ques- 
tion will,  very  naturally,  arise,  in  the  mind  of  the  hearer, 
what  were  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  suffer- 
mgs  and  death  of  Christ  ?  That  he  suffered  much,  that 
he  died  upon  the  cross,  at  last,  and  that  his  death  is 
spoken  of  as  having  an  important  bearing  upon  the  in- 
terests of  humanity,  and  in  a  very  different  manner  from 
that  of  any  other  individual — all  this  is  unquestionable, 
[f  his  death  was  not  vicarious,  the  hearer  will  be  ready 
to  conclude  that  he  died  merely  as  a  martyr  to  the 
cause  which  he  had  espoused  ;  and,  as  Stephen  and 
many  others  were  martyrs,  why  should  the  death  of 
Christ  be  spoken  of  in  a  manner  so  different  from  the 
rr.ode  of  speaking  of  other  martyrs? 


DEATH   OF    CHRISf.  53 

To  investigate  these  points  and  to  explain  to  you,  as 
clearly  as  I  may  be  able,  the  precise  nature  and  object 
of  the  death  and  sufferings  of  Christ,  shall  be  the  busi- 
ness of  this  discourse.  I  deem  it  proper  to  remark,  that 
a  love  of  the  marvellous  and  the  wonderful  has  had  no 
small  influence  in  magnifying  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
as  they  are  presented  in  the  common  doctrines  of  the 
day.  It  is  thought  that  he  suffered  all  that  a  world 
could  suffer;  that,  upon  him,  was  the  tremendous  load 
of  the  sins  of  a  whole  world,  and  that  he  was  assault- 
ed by  all  the  powers  of  hell,  at  the  same  time;  and, 
worse  than  all,  deserted  of  God.  That  the  sufferings 
of  Jesus  Avere  great  and  severe,  is  unquestionably  true; 
but  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any  good  authority  for 
saying,  that  they  were  greater  than  would  have  been 
experienced  by  any  other  benevolent  and  sensitive  be- 
ing, under  similar  circumstances.  The  death  of  the 
cross  is  a  cruel  one,  at  best ;  but  it  would  seem,  from  the 
historian,  that  the  agonies  of  Christ  were  not  prolonged 
to  the  usual  time;  for  we  are  told  that  the  soldiers 
"marvelled  that  he  was  so  soon  dead."  Upon  this, 
however,  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell,  at  any  considerable 
'ength.  He  was  beaten  and  scourged  and  finally  nailed 
to  the  cross,  and  bowed  his  head  and  died,  and  no  man 
can  conceive  that  his  sufferings  could  have  been  either 
few  or  small.  But  the  question  before  us  relates  to 
the  precise  object  of  these  sufferings. 

Will  it  be  said,  that  he  died  simply  as  a  martyr  ?  My 
answer  is,  that  he  Avas  more  than  a  martyr.  Such  was 
the  state  of  the  world,  when  he  came,  that  it  was  cer 
tain  he  would  be  under  the  necessity  of  making  hi 
way  through  the  most  bitter  and  heartless  persecutions 
He  knew,  right  well,  that,  if  he  preached  efficiently  th 
truth  of  which  he  was  made  a  witness,  he  must  encoun 
5* 


d4  DEATH   OF    CHRIST. 

ter  the  inveterate  hatred  of  the  world,  and  that  he 
would  be  pursued  even  to  the  very  death.  The  alterna- 
vive  was  before  him,  either  to  abandon  his  mission,  and 
leave  the  world  in  darkness  and  vice,  as  he  found  it,  or 
to  go  on,  and  establish  his  truth  in  the  hearts  of  the  peo- 
ple, at  the  expense  of  his  life.  He  chose  the  latter;  he 
gave  himself,  his  labours,  and  his  life,  that  he  might  re- 
store men  to  the  knowledge  and  service  of  that  God, 
whom  to  know  was  life  eternal.  In  this  sense  he  was 
a  noble  and  an  illustrious  martyr  to  the  cause  of  human 
happiness;  but  even  in  this  view,  he  differed  from  ordi- 
nary martyrs;  because  his  death  was  certainly  known, 
and  on  his  part  voluntary.  There  are  many  who  have 
engaged  in  the  Christian  cause,  well  knowing  that  it 
would  expose  them  to  danger,  and  even  put  their  lives 
in  jeopardy.  They  have  gone  on,  using  all  precautions, 
and  endeavouring,  by  all  honest  means,  to  escape  the 
power  of  the  persecutor,  and  have  died  at  last,  because 
ihey  could  not  avoid  it.  It  was  different  with  Jesus. 
He  knew,  from  the  beginning,  that  his  life  would  be 
sought,  and  that  his  death  would  be  certain.  And  he 
yoluntarily  undertook  the  work,  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  certain  consequences.  He  went  up  to  the  altar 
with  a  firm  and  willing  step,  and  said,  "  I  will  offer  up 
my  life,  and  thus  seal  my  ministry  with  my  blood."  In 
this  view,  then,  he  differed  from  the  mere  martyr  of  ne- 
cessity. 

But  if  the  death  of  Christ  was  not  vicarious,  or  prt^ 
pitiatory,  why,  it  will  be  asked,  was  it  necessary  that  he 
should  die  at  all  ?  My  answer  is,  that  the  necessity  of 
his  death  grew  out  of  the  circumstances  of  the  world, 
and  the  benevolent  purposes  of  God  toward  man,  inas- 
much as  it  was  the  only  means  by  which  those  purposes 
could  be  accomplished. 


DEATH   OF    CHRIST.  55 

I.  The  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ  were  necessary, 
in  order  to  exhibit  before  the  world  a  perfect  example 
for  our  imitation. 

Before  the  days  of  Jesus,  the  question  had  been  asked, 
"  who  will  show  us  any  good  ?"  and  various  had  been 
the  models  of  goodness  presented  for  the  imitation  of 
man.  The  sages  of  antiquity  had  taught  morality,  but 
they  had  poorly  practised  upon  their  own  teachings ;  and 
the  experience  of  four  thousand  years  had  demonstrated 
the  fact,  that  it  was  not  enough  that  man  should  have 
rules  of  morality  and  virtue  laid  before  him  in  theory : 
it  had  shown  that  rules  of  ethics,  however  good,  could 
have  but  little  influence  upon  human  conduct,  so  long  as 
they  were  not  exemplified  in  ^a-t.  Man  wanted  not 
only  to  be  told  what  was  good  and  right,  but  he  needed 
to  see  it  exemplified  tangibly  before  him.  It  was  not 
enough  that  the  way  through  the  wilderness  should  be 
pointed  out,  for  man  needed  a  guide  that  should  go  be- 
fore him,  as  a  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night, 
to  lead  him  on  his  way.  Jesus  came  to  be  that  guide; 
and  it  was  not  enough  that  he  should  say,  "  this  is  the 
way,  walk  ye  in  it ;"  but  it  was  necessary  that  he  should 
go  before,  and  lead  his  people  on.  Now,  what  I  wish 
you  to  observe  is,  that  this  is  a  world  of  suffering.  Sor- 
rows, and  temptations,  and  sufferings  are  the  ills  una- 
voidably incident  to  humanity.  Hence,  sufferings  are 
necessary  to  draw  out  the  perfections  of  the  human  char- 
acter. In  this  light  you  will  see  that  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  were  necessary,  inasmuch  as  without  passing 
through  them  he  could  not  have  been  a  pattern  for  our 
imitation.  Suppose,  for  example,  the  life  of  Christ  had 
been  a  continued  scene  of  uninterrupted  prosperity.  You 
might  indeed  have  seen  an  illustrious  example  of  virtue 
in  one  aspect.     But  who  can  tell  what  virtue  is  until  it 


56  DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

IS  tried?  To  whom,  under  these  circumstances,  could 
he  have  been  an  example  of  patience  under  suffering,  of 
meekness  under  insult,  of  forgiveness  under  injuries,  and 
of  kindness  even  in  death?  He  might  indeed  have 
taught  patience,  and  resignation,  and  meekness,  and  for- 
giveness; but  his  teachings  would  have  been  compara- 
tively powerless,  because  they  would  have  been  unac- 
companied by  a  living  example,  illustrating  their  utility 
and  practicability.  You  see,  then,  that  in  order  to  give 
efficacy  and  power  to  his  teachings,  it  was  necessary 
that  they  should  be  accompanied  by  a  living  example 
and  in  no  other  way  could  Jesus  present  an  example  for 
man,  but  by  passing  through  the  temptations  and  suffer- 
ings through  which  man  must  necessarily  pass.  In  or- 
der to  give  an  example  of  patience  under  suffering,  he 
must  first  suffer.  To  exemplify  the  virtue  of  meekness 
under  insult,  he  must  first  be  insulted,  and  to  exhibit 
forgiveness  for  injuries,  he  must  first  be  injured.  By 
these  sufferings,  and  these  alone,  could  the  amiable  traits 
of  character  and  Godlike  virtues  of  Jesus  be  exhibited 
to  the  world.  Hence,  these  sufferings  were  necessary ; 
and  hence  also,  the  Apostle,  in  the  text,  gives  us  to  un- 
derstand, that  the  "Captain  of  our  salvation  was  made 
perfect  through  suffering."  It  was  these  sufferings  that 
drew  out  the  perfections  of  his  character,  and  but  for 
them,  the  world,  to  this  day,  would  have  been  ignorant 
of  the  perfection  of  human  virtue. 

There  is  still  another  view,  in  which  the  necessity  ot 
this  example  is  seen  in  a  still  more  striking  aspect.  It 
was  necessary  to  prepare  his  followers  for  tnose  noble 
and  self-sacrificing  exertions,  without  which  his  cause 
would  have  languished  and  died.  Had  Christianity  been 
nurtured  in  luxury  and  earthly  glory,  and  had  its  founder 
been  the  pampered  child  of  fortune  and  adulation,  how 


DEATH    OF    CURIST.  57 

would  it  have  fared  with  liis  followers  and  his  religion 
"when  the  storm  gathered  dark  and  black  around,  and 
broke,  "  terrible  as  the  voice  of  many  waters"  upon  their 
heads.  Age  after  age  the  followers  of  Jesus  waded 
through  seas  of  persecution,  and  "met  destruction  face 
to  face."  Though  dangers  stood  thick  through  all  the 
way,  and  fierce  opposers  met  them  at  every  step,  yet 
with  an  indomitable  courage,  that  no  power  could  awe, 
and  perseverance  that  paused  not  at  death  itself,  they 
went  onward,  glorying  in  tribulation,  and  rejoicing  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  the  name  of 
Jesus.  These  were  the  exertions  that  gave  success  to 
the  Master's  cause,  and  but  for  these,  Christianity  would 
have  been  exterminated.  But  where  did  the  disciples 
learn  to  manifest  a  spirit  like  this  ?  I  answer,  from  the 
self-sacrificing  example  of  their  Master.  It  was  this 
that  kindled  the  same  spirit  in  the  Apostles,  and  taught 
them  to  be  faithful  even  unto  death.  And  the  united 
example  of  the  Master  and  his  servants  has  exerted  an 
mfiuence  that  has  been  felt  in  every  age,  and  in  all  cir- 
cumstances where  sufferings  and  dangers  were  lo  be  en- 
countered in  the  cause  of  truth.  From  Calvary  and 
Gethsemane,  and  from  every  scene  hallowed  by  the  suf- 
ferings of  Jesus,  there  comes  a  voice,  bidding  the  Chris- 
tian "  be  faithful."  That  voice  has  been  echoed  from 
generation  to  generation.  In  our  own  times  it  sounds  full 
and  clear,  and  it  shall  not  cease  till  its  silver  tones  shall 
mingle  with  the  sound  of  the  archangel's  trumpet,  when 
time  shall  be  no  more.  Take  away,  now,  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  and  where  would  Christianity  have  been  long 
ago?     It  would  have  died  the  death. 

There  is  still  another  aspect,  in  which  we  may  see 
the  necessity  of  these  sufferings,  in  their  bearing  upon 
the  permanent  interests  of  the  Gospel.     Had  the  life  of 


58  DEATH  OF  CIIBIST. 

Christ  been  one  of  ease,  and  worldly  prosperity,  ana 
honor,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  amount  of  histor- 
ical evidence  that  would  have  borne  down,  through 
successive  generations,  the  conviction  of  the  truth  of  his 
doctrine,  and  the  authenticity  of  his  mission.  The  cry 
would  have  been  raised,  that  he  sought  for  worldly  hon- 
or and  riches,  and  a  thousand  suspicions  of  collusion 
and  deception  would  have  come  up,  and  destroyed  the 
convincing  power  of  the  most  clear  and  palpable  evi- 
dence. But  when  we  see  that  the  Saviour  was  "  a  man 
of  sorrow  and  acquainted  with  grief,"  that  he  met  with 
persecution,  and  lived  in  poverty,  and  endured  the  scorn 
of  the  world,  and  at  last  died  upon  the  cross;  then  we 
see  that  there  was  an  absence  of  all  worldly  motive,  and 
the  conviciicn  is  forced  upon  the  mind,  that  his  mission 
was  divine.  All  these  are  illustrations  of  the  truth  con- 
tained in  the  text,  that  "  the  Captain  of  our  salvation 
was  made  perfect,"  precisely  what  he  should  have  been, 
"  through  suffering."  Much  more  I  might  say  upon  this 
point,  but  I  must  pass  on. 

II.  I  observe,  that  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ 
were  necessary  to  a  full  revelation  of  the  character  and 
perfections  of  God  to  the  world. 

This  was  a  great  object  of  his  mission  on  earth ;  and 
hence  it  was  that  he  said,  near  its  close,  "  I  have  finish- 
ed the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do.  I  have  de- 
clared thy  name  unto  them  that  thou  gavest  me  out  of 
the  world."  It  should  be  remembered,  that  a  mere 
vague  description  of  the  character  of  God  could  give  but 
a  poor  idea  of  its  glory.  It  was  necessary  that  it  should 
be  tangibly  manifested  on  earth.  In  Christ  it  was  mani- 
fested, and  lience  the  Apostle  says  of  him,  that  he  is  the 
"brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image 
of  his  person."    As  the  rays  of  light-  falling  upon  the 


DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^^ 

smooth  waters  reflect  a  perfect  image  of  the  sun  in  the 
firmament,  so  the  rays  of  divine  light  and  truth,  shining 
upon  the  face  of  Jesus  the  anointed,  reflect,  a  perfect 
image  of  Gcd.  He  is  the  mirror  in  whom  the  Father's 
face  may  be  seen,  and  in  him  we  may  perceive  an  exact 
likeness,  a  perfect  transcript  of  the  divine  character.  So 
exact  was  the  likeness,  that  the  Apostle  calls  it  "  the 
express  image  of  his  person."  In  this  manner  "  God 
was  manifested  in  the  flesh,"  and  so  perfect  was  the 
manifestation  that  Jesus  himself  said,  "He  that  hath 
seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father."  The  great  beauty  of 
the  character  of  God  is,  his  goodness  and  love  to  the 
children  of  men.  One  writer  says,  that  "  God  is  love." 
He  is  not  only  lovely,  but  he  is  love  itself,  pure  and  una- 
dulterated love. 

Now,  please  bear  in  mind,  that  one  great  object  of 
the  mission  of  Christ  was  to  reveal  God's  name  to  the 
children  of  men,  and  that  he  himself  was  the  "  bright- 
ness of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of°his 
person."  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a 
man  should  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friend."  Here  is 
the  highest  perfection  of  human  love;  it  never  can  go 
beyond  it.  But  God's  love  rises  far  higher  than  this. 
It  extends  even  to  his  most  bitter  enemies.  Do  you  ask 
for  proof  of  this  ?  Go  to  the  cross  of  Calvary,  and  there 
you  shall  behold  it.  There,  in  the  agony  and  torture  of 
a  cruel  death,  you  behold  Jesus  laying  down  his  life  for 
his  enemies,  and  while  they  wag  their  heads  and  mock, 
his  prayer  goes  up  for  a  blessing  upon  their  heads. 
There  you  see  love  stronger  than  death,  which  many 
waters  cannot  quench,  nor  the  floods  drown.  Love,  not 
for  friends  but  for  enemies  and  murderers— Xo ye  which 
paused  not  at  persecution^  and  failed  not  in  the  hour  of 
dissolving  nature.      Look  hither  ye  doubting  mortab 


GC  DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

and  behold  the  evidence  of  the  love  of  God  even  to  his 
enemies.  There  is  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person,  and  such  as  is 
Jesus  there,  such  is  your  God. 

Now  let  me  ask,  by  what  other  means  could  Jesus 
have  given  such  an  evidence  of  strong  and  everlasting 
love  as  this  ?  He  might  have  professed  great  love,  but 
alas  !  man  would  have  been  slow  of  heart  to  believe,  foi 
painful  experience  has  taught  him  that  such  professions 
are  not  always  to  be  trusted,  and  we  know  not,  who 
among  all  our  friends  loves  us,  until  the  day  of  trial 
comes.  He  might  have  told  them  again  and  again,  that 
their  Father  loved  them,  and  pointed  them  as  he  had 
done,  to  the  fowls  of  the  air  and  lillies  of  the  field,  to 
the  shining  sun  and  falling  rain,  as  evidence  of  the  fact, 
and  he  might  thus  have  convinced  them  that  God  lov- 
ed his  friends ;  but  his  business  was  to  do  more  than 
this. 

It  was  to  prove  to  the  world,  that  the  the  love  of  God 
extended  far  heyoyid  all  human  love,  and  embraced  even 
his  enemies.  In  his  death  he  gave  the  demonstration 
of  the  fact.  He  laid  down  his  life  for  his  enemies,  and 
in  that  tragedy  of  Calvary,  the  world  saw,  for  the  first 
time,  an  exhibition  of  loving  kindness,  that  could  not  be 
overcome  by  all  the  guilt,  sin,  hatred  and  persecution  of 
man.  I  can  imagine  no  other  way,  in  Avhich  so  full  an 
exhibition  of  the  perfections  of  the  divine  character  could 
have  been  made,  and  therefore  I  say,  his  death  was 
necessary  to  a  full  and  perfect  revelation  of  his  Father's 
name.  The  love  of  God  was  manifested  in  nature  and 
providence.  It  was  testified  in  scripture,  but  it  was  de- 
monstrated and  proved  by  the  death  of  Christ;  tangibly 
exhibited  in  his  sufferings,  and  shone  in  full  splendor 
from  Calvary  and  its  cross. 


DEATH   OF    CHRIST.  61 

For  this  reason  the  writers  of  the  New  Ttstament  all 
along,  speak  of  the  death  of  Christ,  as  the  strongest 
possible  manifestation  of  the  love  of  God.  "  God  com- 
mended his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet 
sinners  Christ  died  for  us." 

*'  He  that  spared  not  his  own  son,  how  shall  he  not 
also  freely  give  us  all  things."  These  are  the  testimo- 
nies of  the  apostles,  in  regard  to  the  death  of  Christ. 
They  saw  in  it  the  most  perfect  manifestation  of  the 
love  of  God :  for  in  Christ  himself  they  beheld  the  image 
of  the  invisible  God;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that 
none  of  the  inspired  writers  ever  mention  the  death  of 
Christ,  as  being  the  effect  of  the  wrath  of  God,  or  the 
sacrifice  offered  to  his  justice.  It  is  a  commendation  of 
the  deep  and  unfathomable  ocean  of  a  father's  love,  and 
as  such,  they  made  it  their  hope  and  trust  for  the  rich 
graces  of  the  spirit  in  this  life,  and  the  unborn  glories  of 
a  happy  immortality.  But  I  must  leave  this,  and  pass 
to  another  view  of  the  death  of  the  blessed  Redeemer. 

III.  The  death  of  Christ  was  necessary  to  prove  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  stamp  the  seal  of  eter- 
nal truth  upon  the  divinity  of  his  mission. 

Life  and  immortality  are  brought  to  light  in  the  Gos- 
pel, through  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  Before  the 
Gospel  came  into  the  world,  there  was  a  thick  veil  of 
impenetrable  darkness  suspended  between  the  vision  of 
man  and  all  beyond  the  grave.  The  question  had  been 
asked  with  fearful  anxiety,  "  If  a  man  dieth  shall  he 
live  again  ?  "  But  it  had  not  yet  been  answered.  The 
wise  men  of  old  had  pondered  long  upon  that  question. 
Sages  and  philosophers,  and  poets,  had  tasked  their 
mighty  powers  in  search  of  proof,  that  man  should  live 
again ;  and  in  the  end  they  confessed  their  ignorance, 
and  left  the  question  where  they  found  it,  and  sighed  as 
6 


62  DEATH    :F    CHRIST. 

they  said, "man  dieth,  )'ea,  he  giveth  up  the  ghost,  and 
where  is  he  ?"     And  echo  answered,  where  ? 

Now  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  throw  light  upon 
the  darkness  of  the  grave,  and  teach  man  that  he  should 
rise  from  the  dead.  How  should  that  be  done?  It 
would  answer  no  good  purpose  to  teach  man  that  it 
should  be  so,  without  giving  the  proof.  Philosophers 
had  taught  this  long  ago,  and  had  indulged  in  long  and 
subtle  trains  of  argumentation  to  prove  that  it  should  be 
so.  But  yet  the  world  was  without  hope  in  the  future 
Man  needed  not  only  the  theory  but  the  fact,  and  weep- 
ing humanity  cried  aloud,  not  for  speculations  ;  for  they 
had  enough  of  these,  but  for  a  demonstration  of  the 
truth  by  actual  experiment.  It  was  needful,  therefore, 
that  Jesus  should  rise  from  the  dead,  and  thus  prove  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  give  man 
a  hope  that  should  be  as  "  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  sure  and 
steadfast."  But  he  could  not  rise  from  the  dead,  unless 
he  first  died;  and  hence  you  will  see  that  his  death  was 
necessary  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  mission,  and  to  bring 
life  and  immortality  to  light.  Nor  is  there  any  other 
imaginable  way,  in  which  such  a  hope  could  be  given. 
In  this  light  then  you  will  see,  that  the  death  of 
Christ  differs  from  the  death  of  martyrs  in  another 
important  respect.  Martyrdom  in  general,  is  no  more 
than  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  the  martyr.  When  a 
man  persists  in  his  adhesion  to  certain  doctrines  in  the 
face  of  death,  it  is  an  evidence,  and  the  highest  evidence 
that  he  is  sincere  in  his  belief  of  certain  principles,  but 
it  affords  no  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  principles  them- 
selves, for  a  man  may  be  sincere  in  the  belief  of  false- 
hood. But  in  the  case  of  Christ,  you  see  his  death  was 
necessary,  not  merely  as  a  test  of  his  sincerity,  but  as 
the  means  of  demonstrating  the  truth  of  his  doctrines. 


DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  63 

For  this  reason,  when  the  Jews  asked  a  si^r;,  he  «aid, 
"destroy  this  body,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up.' 
Henre,  also,  the  Apostle  rested  the  whole  proof  of  future 
life  on  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  from  the 
dead.  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen,"  says  he,  "  your  faith  is 
vain,  our  preaching  also  is  vain."  But  Christ  could  not 
have  risen  from  the  dead,  except  he  had  first  died,  and 
hence  his  death  was  a  necessary  part  of  his  mission. 

Take  away,  now,  the  death  of  Christ,  and  what  do 
you  do  ?  Why,  you  just  destroy  the  glorious  fact  of  his 
resurrection  ;  you  make  him  an  impostor,  and  destroy 
the  whole  fabric  of  Christian  hope.  It  is  no  wonder 
then,  that  the  death  of  Christ  should  be  mentioned  ir 
different  language,  and  as  far  more  important  than  the 
death  of  any  other  man. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected,  that  with  such  views  the 
divine  writers  should  compare  the  death  of  martyrs  with 
this,  for  this  had  a  bearing  upon  the  hopes  of  a  world, 
and  was  inseparably  connected  with  the  very  foundation 
Gf  all  Christian  hope.  But  for  that  death,  and  the  con- 
sequent resurrection  from  the  dead,  darkness  and  eter- 
nal night  would  still  have  brooded  over  the  grave;  and 
for  aught  that  men  or  angels  could  tell,  death  would 
have  been  the  final  end  of  man,  wiih  all  his  hopes  and 
joys.  "  For  this  purpose  was  the  Son  of  God  manifested, 
that  through  death,  he  might  destroy  death,  and  him 
that  hath  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil,  and  de- 
liver those  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  life- 
time subject  to  bondage."  Mark  you,  it  was  through 
death,  that  he  destroyed  death,  and  wrought  the  deliv- 
erance of  those  Avho  were  subject  to  the  bondage  of 
fear.  Well,  then,  might  the  Apostle  glory  in  the  cross 
of  Christ.  It  was  the  cross  that  led  to  the  tomb,  and  it 
was  the  tomb  that  was  consecrated  by  the  presence  of 


64  DEATH   OF    CHRIST. 

Jesus,  and  enlightened  by  the  glory  of  his  resurrection. 
Thus,  through  death,  he  shed  the  radiance  of  an  eternal 
morning  upon  the  night  of  the  grave,  and  illumined  the 
shadow  of  death  with  the  dawn  of  a  glorious  and  happy 
immortality,  wliere  humanity,  raised  in  the  image  of 
Jesus,  shall  assimilate  to  its  God,  and  live  the  eternal 
monument  of  his  faithfulness  and  love. 

I  have  now  given  you  my  views  of  the  nature  and  m- 
tent  of  the  death  of  Christ,  and  of  their  efficacy  in  the 
great  plan  of  redemption.  Though  I  cannot  allow  that 
his  blood  flowed  to  appease  the  wrath  or  satisfy  the  jus- 
tice of  God,  and  though  I  am  positive  that  it  was  not 
God's  justice,  but  man's  injustice  and  wickedness,  that 
made  these  sufferings  and  this  death  necessary,  yet  I 
cannot  allow  the  truth  of  the  charge,  that  we  deny  the 
efficacy  and  power  of  the  Saviour's  death.  I  praise  my 
God  that  he  sent  his  Son,  who  laid  down  his  life  for  our 
sakes,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
give  us  good  hope  and  everlasting  consolation  through 
faith.  I  thank  heaven  with  a  full  heart,  that  Jesus  was 
faithful  even  unto  death,  and  that  he  "  died  that  those 
who  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but 
unto  God."  While  I  live  may  I  cherish  the  remem- 
brance and  love  of  him,  to  whose  labours  and  sufferings 
I  am  indebted  for  all  that  I  am  above  the  pagan,  who 
bows  to  gods  of  wood  and  stone;  and  when  at  last  the 
solemn  hour  shall  come,  that  shall  call  me  hence  to  be 
here  no  more,  I  pray  that  faith  in  the  name  of  Jesus  may 
enable  me  to  close  my  eyes  in  peace,  with  the  triumphant 
song  upon  my  lips,  "  Oh,  grave  !  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
Oh,  death  !  where  is  thy  sting?  The  sting  of  death  is 
sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law,  but  thanks  be 
unto  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our  Lord 
lesus  Chn  st." 


PUNISHMENT.  85 


SERMON  V. 

PUNISHMENT. 

"  If  his  children  forsake  my  law,  and  walk  not  in  my  judgments  :  if  they 
break  my  statutes  and  keep  not  my  commandments  ;  then  will  1  visit  their 
transgressions  with  the  roJ.and  their  iniquities  with  stripes.  Nevertheless, 
my  loving  kindness  will  I  not  utterly  take  from  them,  nor  suffer  my  faith- 
ftjlness  10  fail."  ,  Psalms  Ixxxix.  30,  33. 

In  my  introductory  lecture,  I  gave  it  you  as  one  of  the 
peculiar  and  distinguishing  doctrines  of  Universalism, 
that  no  man  can,  by  any  possibility,  escape  the  just 
punishment  of  his  sins.  In  my  subsequent  lectures,  I 
have  shown,  that  it  was  no  part  of  the  object,  either  of 
the  labo-urs,  sufferings,  or  death  of  Christ,  to  open  a  way 
by  which  the  guilty  could  evade  the  rod  of  his  Father's 
justice.  I  purpose,  in  this  discourse,  to  speak  more  at 
large  upon  the  certainly  and  the  object  of  punishment. 
I  have  more  than  once  said,  that  no  man  can  escape  the 
just  punishment  of  his  sins;  and  before  I  proceed  with 
the  proof  of  the  proposition,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me 
to  explain  my  ideas  of  a  just  punishment. 

I  commence  with  the  position,  that  there  is  a  vast 
difference  between  justice  and  revenge ;  a  difference 
which  seems  almost  entirely  to  have  been  overlooked 
by  the  theologians  of  this  day.  The  difference  is,  that 
revenge  is  vindictive,  while  justice  is  never  so;  revenge 
is  retrospective,  while  justice  is  prospective;  revenge 
looks  upon  the  past,  and  seeks  satisfaction  for  an  injury 
done;  but  justice  looks  to  the  future,  and  sejks  the  re- 
6* 


66  PUNISH  MEM'/. 

formation  of  the  offender.  Hence,  it  is  evident  tha'  lh». 
"lex  talionis,"  or  liw  of  retaliation,  has  no  found'tion 
in  justice.  Let  me  illustrate.  Your  child  transgresses 
your  commands,  and  you  punish  him  severely.  Now,  it 
depends  entirely  upon  your  object,  in  the  act  of  punish- 
ing, whether  that  punishment  is  justice  or  revenge.  If 
you  inflicted  the  stripes  in  a  fit  of  anger,  looking  only  at 
the  offence,  and  seeking  satisfaction  to  yourself  for  the 
injury  done,  then  it  was  sheer  revenge.  But  if  you  did 
it  in  the  kindness  of  a  father's  love,  because  you  though* 
the  good  of  the  child  demanded  it.  and  with  the  purpose 
of  working  out  a  reformation  in  the  child,  then,  in  you 
it  was  justice,  even  though  it  might  have  been  severe. 
So  it  is  in  the  government  of  God;  I  speak  it  with  rev- 
erence ;  God  himself  has  no  right  to  punish  in  revenge, 
or  with  a  vindictive  spirit.  He  brought  us  into  existence 
of  his  own  good  pleasure,  and  without  our  knowledge 
or  consent,  and  he  is  bound,  by  the  principles  of  his  own 
nature,  to  do  us  justice;  and  he  has  no  right,  in  the  na- 
ture of  things,  to  do  an  injury.  The  right  to  punish  for 
sin,  has  its  foundation  in  the  fact,  that  sin  is  "  an  evil 
and  bitter  thing,"  and  its  practice  productive  of  evil  to 
man.  For  this  reason  alone,  is  it  right  to  punish  men 
at  all ;  for,  if  sin  were  more  conducive  to  human  happi- 
ness than  virtue,  it  would  not  be  right  to  prohibit  its 
practice.  But  sin  being  aa  evil,  justice  looks  to  the  re- 
moval of  that  evil ;  it  is,  ia  fact,  the  remedy  for  it,  and 
looks  continually  to  the  good  of  the  sufferer.  Hence, 
then,  the  conclusion  is  logical  and  irresistible,  that  a  just 
punishment  can  never  be  more  severe  than  the  evil  of 
sm ;  for  in  that  case,  you  would  make  the  remedy  worse 
than  the  disease  itself  Again,  you  will  see,  from  the 
foregoing,  that  the  true  standard  of  justice  cannot  be 
found  in  any  precise  quantity  of  punishment.     I  mean 


FtJNISmiENT.  67 

to  say,  that  it  is  impossible  to  fix  upon  a  s.aiidard  which 
shall  say,  that  so  many  degrees  of  guilt  shall  deserve 
and  receive  so  many  degrees  of  punishment,  for  that 
would  destroy  all  distinction  between  justice  and  re- 
venge. I  am  particular  on  this  point,  because  it  is  here 
that  men  fall  into  a  most  pernicious  error.  The  com- 
mon opinion  seems  to  be,  that  an  inflexible  standard  is 
erected,  and  that  so  many  pounds  of  punishment  (for  I 
know  no  better  illustration)  must,  at  all  hazards,  follow 
so  many  pounds  of  guilt.  Hence,  when  we  say  that  no 
man  can  escape  the  just  punishment  of  his  sins,  the  cry 
is  raised,  that  there  is  no  mercy,  and  that  we  destroy  the 
mercy  of  God  !  Why,  my  dear  sir,  do  you  not  see  that 
the  very  punishment  itself  is  inflicted  in  mercy?  The 
sinner  is  sick ;  "  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  sole 
of  the  foot,  there  is  no  soundness  in  him,"  and  God,  in 
his  mercy,  administers  the  medicine;  bitter,  indeed,  it 
may  be,  but  it  is  administered  by  the  hand  of  a  Father's 
kindness.  Hence  the  Psalmist  says,  "  Great  is  thy  mer- 
cy, 0  Lord,  for  thou  renderest  unto  every  man  according 
to  his  works."  But,  to  return  to  the  point  from  which 
we  started, 

The  right  to  punish  is,  as  I  said,  founded  in  the  fact, 
that  sin  is  an  evil,  and  punishment  is  the  remedy  of  that 
evil,  its  object  being  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  law. 
For  this  reason,  it  is  impossible  that  there  should  be  a 
perfect  rule  prescribing  the  precise  quantum  of  punish- 
ment due  to  every  degree  of  guilt;  because,  in  the  first 
place,  this  would  make  punishment  not  just,  but  vindic- 
tive ;  and  in  the  next  place,  it  would,  in  some  instances, 
necessarily  ail  of  its  object,  and  in  others  go  far  beyond! 
The  object  of  jusiice  is  to  enforce  obedience,  and  effect 
a  reformation ;  anil  when  that  object  is  secured,  when 
th/3  a-ansgressoi  is  reformed,  and  the  sinner  made  obe 


68  PUNISHMENT. 

dient,  then  the  end  of  justice  is  attained.  Whetner  it 
takes  one  stripe  or  a  thousand  to  accomplish  that  object, 
is  of  no  consequence ;  in  either  case,  the  punishment  is 
just,  and  no  more  nor  less  than  just.  If  it  is  attained  by- 
one  stripe,  then  that  one  stripe  is  a  full  and  just  punish- 
ment. If  it  takes  a  thousand  stripes,  then  nothing  less 
than  a  thousand  is  just.  When,  therefore,  I  say,  a  just 
punishment,  I  do  not  mean  a  vindictive  or  revengeful 
one  ;  but  I  mean  a  punishment  that  is  adequate  to  the 
evil  of  sin,  and  effectual  in  enforcing  obedience.  From 
such  a  punishment,  my  position  is,  that  man  cannot 
escape,  by  any  possibility  ;  and,  I  may  add,  that,  wesre  it 
possible,  the  escape  would  be  a  curse,  rather  than  a 
blessing,  and  man's  rejoicings  over  it  would  be  as  ill- 
timed  as  those  of  a  sick  man,  who  should  rejoice  that 
he  had  escaped  the  taking  of  a  healing  medicine,  for- 
getful of  the  truth  that  a  deadly  disease  was  left  behind. 
I  repeat  again  :  sin  is  an  evil  and  punishment  is  a  rem- 
edy, and  it  is  a  poor  cause  of  joy,  that  we  have  escaped 
the  Good  Physician,  "  who  healeth  all  our  diseases." 
Better,  by  far,  submit  to  the  caustic  or  the  knife,  if 
necessary,  than  bear  about  with  us  a  gangrene  that  eat- 
eth  to  the  vitals.  I  come,  now,  to  give  you  the  proof 
that  all  sin  must  be  punished.     I  prove  it 

I.  From  the  very  nature  of  man. 

God  has  given  to  man  a  moral  constitution,  and  this 
constitution  has  its  laws  which  must  be  obeyed,  or  we 
must  suffer,  as  a  necessary  and  unavoidable  conse- 
quence. There  is  one  course  of  ocnduct  which  will 
lead  to  happiness,  because  it  accords  with  those  laws; 
and  there  is  another  course  which  will  as  certainly  lead 
to  misery,  because  it  is  contrary  to  those  laAVS. 

Let  me  illustrate  this  subject.  AVe  know  that  there 
are  physical  la\rs  which  must  be  obeyed,  if  we  wouH 


PUNISroiENT.  G9 

preserve  the  healtli  of  the  hody.  If  we  put  our  hand  in 
the  fire,  it  will  be  burned.  If  we  expose  our  bodies  to 
the  cold,  they  will  freeze ;  and,  if  we  eat  or  drink  intem- 
perately,  disease  will  be  engendered.  The  reason  is, 
that,  in  so  doing,  we  violate  the  laws  of  our  physical 
constitution,  and  incur  that  penalty  which  the  Creator 
has  annexed.  So  it  is  with  the  mind:  it  has  its  laws 
written  upon  it  by  the  finger  of  the  Creator,  and  these 
laws  must  be  obeyed,  or  we  must  suffer.  The  idea  to 
which  I  desire  to  direct  your  attention  is,  that  the  moral 
laws  of  God,  presented  in  the  Bible,  are  but  revelations 
of  those  sure  and  immutable  laws,  which  were  stamped 
upon  the  human  heart  by  the  hand  of  God,  long  before 
a  Bible  was  kuown. 

Look  at  it,  in  an  extended  view.  All  the  law,  so  far 
as  our  conduct  toward  others  is  concerned,  is  summed 
up,  by  the  Apostle,  in  one  word :  "  Even  this :  thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself"  Now,  I  say,  that 
man  is  so  made  that,  if  he  would  be  happy,  he  must 
love  his  fellow  man,  and  pursue  a  corresponding  course 
of  conduct.  If  we  hate  and  devour  one  another,  we  vi 
olate  the  laws  of  our  moral  nature,  and  must  as  infalli- 
bly suffer,  as  the  body  must  suffer,  if  exposed  to  the  ac- 
tion of  fire,  contrary  to  the  natural  law.  I  desire  you 
to  look  into  your  own  hearts,  and  examine  your  own 
experience,  and  see  if  this  is  not  so.  When  did  you 
hate  a  fellow  creature,  or  do  him  an  injury,  and  did  not 
suffer  misery  as  the  consequence  ?  Or  when  did  you  do 
an  act  of  kindness,  and  not  feel  that  you  had  a  most 
rich  and  abundant  reward  ?  I  will  answer  for  you. 
Never.  No,  never  did  you  have  cause  to  rejoice  that 
you  had  felt  or  acted  wrong,  and  never  did  you  regret 
that  you  had  loved  a  brother  and  done  him  good.  I 
care  not  who  you  are,  or  what  may  be  your  circum- 


70  PUNISHMENT. 

Stances,  love  and  kindness  are  the  elements  of  ilje  soul ; 
but  wrath  and  hatred  will  burn  like  fire  in  the  bosom, 
and  destroy  your  peace ;  for  God  himself  has  so  made 
man,  the  world  over,  that,  if  we  would  be  ha^py,  we 
must  love  one  another  and  be  kind.  I  say,  then,  that 
the  very  constitution  of  man  is  proof  that  there  is  no 
escape  from  the  punishment  of  our  sins;  and  all  our  ex- 
perience bears  its  testimony  to  this  solemn  truth.  Ye 
may  as  well  attempt  to  stop  the  sun  in  the  firmament, 
or  roll  back  the  wheels  of  nature,  as  to  interfere  with 
that  eternal  law  which  God  has  revealed  in  the  Bible, 
and  written  on  our  very  souls,  declaring  that  love  only 
is  the  delight  of  the  soul,  and  that  hatred  will  corrode 
the  moral  powers,  and  pour  a  flood  of  moral  poison 
through  all  the  channels  of  a  healthful,  moral  existence. 

II.  I  prove  that  no  man  can  escape  the  just  punish- 
ment of  his  sins,  from  the  clear  and  explicit  testimonies 
of  scripture. 

If  there  is  one  point  more  clearly  established  by  the 
concurrent  and  explicit  testimony  of  all  the  divine  wri- 
ters than  another,  it  is  the  truth  that  God  will  visit  cer- 
tain and  inevitable  punishment  upon  those  who  trans- 
gress his  laws.  The  very  first  prohibition  that  God 
made,  was  sanctioned  by  this  penalty.  "  In  the  day 
that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shall  surely  die."  In  af- 
ter times,  God  proclaimed  himself  as,  "  the  Lord,  the 
Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering,  and 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin,  and 
that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty."  "Though 
hand  join  in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished." 
"The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die;"  and  "he  that 
doeth  wrong,  shall  receive  for  the  wrong  that  he 
has  done,  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons."    These 


PUNISHMENT.  71 

are  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  upon  the  point  in  hand, 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  all  these  threatenings  are 
made  without  any  proviso  or  conditions  whatever ;  but 
are,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term,  unconditional. 
When  God  saj^s  that  he  will,  by  "no  means  clear  the 
guilty,"  I  cannot  suppose  he  meant  to  be  understood 
that  he  himself  had  prepared  the  means  by  which  the 
vilest  of  the  i-le  might  escape  from  all  that  punish- 
ment to  which  their  sins  expose  them.  It  were  trifling 
in  God,  to  threaten  men  with  punishments  which  he 
never  intended  to  inflict,  and  I  dare  not  thus  charge 
falsehood  and  deception  upon  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
I  pray  you,  then,  beloved,  think  not  that  God  is  a  man, 
that  he  should  lie,  or  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should  re- 
pent. His  words  are  faithful  and  true,  and  the  thing 
that  he  saith,  even  that  will  he  do.  The  adversary,  in 
ten  thousand  shapes,  may  attempt  to  deceive  you.  He 
may  come  in  the  garb  of  an  angel  of  light,  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  and  tell  you  to  follow  his  directions,  and 
ye  shall  escape  the  justice  of  your  God.  I  warn  you, 
heed  it  not.  Lay  not  the  flattering  unction  to  your 
soul ;  it  is  an  "ignis  fatuus  that  leads  to  bewilder,  and 
dazzles  to  blmd."  It  leads  ten  thousand  astray,  and  in- 
volves them  in  many  woes.  It  is  this  hope  of  an  easy 
escape,  that  urges  men  on  and  makes  them  bold  in  sin. 
Oh  !  fly  from  ii,  as  from  the  pestilence  "  that  walketh  in 
darkness  and  wasteth  at  noonday ;"  for  God  is  true,  he 
will  "  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty."  You  may  lock 
your  crimes  in  the  secret  recesses  of  your  own  heart; 
but  God  will  find  them  out.  You  may  flee  to  the  dark- 
ness, where  the  eye  of  man  cannot  penetrate ;  but  that 
darkness  is  light  before  him,  and  even  there  will  his 
justice  scourge  you  with  a  thong,  that  no  vigilance  can 
elude,  no  fortitude  endure.    I  pray  you  ther^bre,  yef 


72  PUNISmiENT. 

once  more,  think  not  that  any  man  can  sin  with  impuni* 
ly,  for  it  is  an  idle  dream. 

T  suppose  the  hearer  Avill,  by  this  time,  inquire  if  we 
do  not  read  in  the  Bible,  of  forgiveness  and  pardon,  to  the 
penitent  ?  I  answer,  yes  ;  and,  in  my  next  discourse,  J 
intend  to  take  that  subject  up  at  large,  and  show  that 
there  is  no  incongruity  between  the  idea  of  forgiveness, 
or  pardon,  and  a  just  and  adequate  punishment.  At 
present  I  have  merely  time  to  observe  that  the  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  of  which  we  read  in  the  scriptures,  and  the 
forgiveness  of  punishment,  of  which  we  do  not  read, 
are  two  distinct  and  different  things  which  ought  never 
to  be  confounded. 

Having  shown,  as  I  trust,  that  the  first  part  of  the 
text  is  true,  to  wit :  "  If  his  children  forsake  my  law, 
and  walk  not  in  my  judgments,  if  they  break  my  stat- 
utes, and  keep  not  my  commandments,  I  will  visit  their 
transgressions  with  the  rod,  and  their  iniquities  with 
stripes;"  I  proceed  to  illustrate  the  latter  clause: 
'  Nevertheless  my  loving-kindness  I  will  not  utterly 
take  from  him,  nor  suffer  my  faithfulness  to  fail."  The 
position,  I  assume,  is  this  : — 

All  the  punishments  that  God  lays  upon  men,  are 
the  well  intended  chastisements  of  a  merciful  Father, 
and  so  many  testimonies  of  his  parental  faithfulness  and 
love.     Now  for  the  proof  of  that  position. 

The  first  argument  in  its  favor  is  drawn  from  the  na- 
ture of  God.  We  are  informed  by  the  beloved  disciple, 
that  God  is  love.  I  have  before  made  the  remark,  that 
God  is  not  said  merely  to  be  lovely,  but  he  is  love  itself. 
He  is  love  now,  love  henceforth,  and  love  for  evermore. 
Now  it  is  impossible  for  the  same  fountain,  to  send  forth 
waiters  both  bitter  and  sweet.  God  is  the  fountain,  and 
all  the  streams  from  that  fountain  must  of  necessity. 


PUNISHMENT.  73 

partake  of  its  own  divine  nature.  Whetner  these 
streams  come  to  us  in  the  form  of  chastisements,  or  of 
undisguised  mercies  makes  no  difference.  Whether 
they  silenll}^  and  smoothly  glide  through  the  verdant 
plain,  and  sweetly  murmur  in  the  valley,  or  rush  down 
the  rugged  mountain's  side,  with  the  noise  and  din  of  the 
cataract,  makes  no  difference;  they  all  flow  from  the 
same  fountain:  that  fountam  is  /ore,  and  the  streams 
must  be  love  also.  As  certainly,  therefore,  as  you  can 
judge  of  a  stream  by  knowing  the  fountain  from  which 
it  flows,  so  surely  can  you  judge  of  the  nature  of  chas- 
tisements, by  knowing  the  fountain  from  which  they 
proceed.  If  God  is  love,  then  all  his  punishments  are 
inflicted  in  love,  and  it  is  impossible  that  one  particle  of 
hatred  can  flow  from  such  a  fountain. 

Again,  God  is  immutable,  and  knows  no  change.  Men 
may  change,  and  they  do  all  fade  as  a  leaf;  but  God  is 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  for  ever.  He  is  not  love 
to-day  and  hatred  to-morrow,  nor  can  any  change  in  his 
creatures  Avork  a  change  in  him.  Now  the  scriptures 
assert,  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  son  to  die  for  us."  Here  then  you  find, 
that  there  was  a  time  when  God  loved  even  an  ungodly 
world.  If  therefore,  he  is  immutable  he  will  ever  con- 
tinue to  love  them,  and  even  the  fact  that  he  chastises 
them,  cannot  be  received  as  an  evidence  that  his  love  has 
turned  to  hate,  for  he  changes  not. 

Another  argument  in  favor  of  our  position,  we  derive 
from  the  fact  that  God  has  reveeded  himself  to  us  in  the 
relationship  of  a  father.  Now  there  are  certain  duties  in- 
dispensable to  the  parental  character,  and  neither  God. 
nor  man,  nor  any  other  being  can  truly  sustain  that 
character  without  the  performance  of  these  duties.. 
The  most  solemn  duty  of  a  father  is  to  love  his  children,, 
7 


74  PUNISHMENT. 

under  all  circumstances  and  at  all  times.  In  no  one  act 
does  a  father  give  more  unequivocal  evidence  that  he 
loves  his  children,  than  in  his  chastisements  for  their 
follies  and  sins.  Suppose  for  instance,  I  should  see  one 
of  my  hearers  chastising  his  child.  I  would  go  away 
and  say,  that  man  did  not  love  his  child;  and  if  you 
asked  the  reason  why  I  thus  judged,  my  reply  should  be, 
that  I  saw  him  punishing  the  child.  How  quickly  should 
I  hear  from  the  accused  the  reply,  that  the  {)unishment 
proceeded  not  from  hatred  but  from  love.  I  love  my 
child,  and  for  that  very  reason  I  chasten  him.  If  I 
cared  not  for  his  welfare  I  should  take  no  notice  of  his 
faults;  but  feeling  as  I  do,  my  own  happiness  indisso- 
lubly  connected  with  that  of  the  child,  I  am  constrained 
to  use  even  the  rod  of  reproof  to  save  him  from  the 
snares  of  the  tempter;  and  the  very  fact  that  I  chasten 
him  is  the  proof  of  my  love.  Dear  to  my  heart  as  the 
apple  of  my  eye,  is  the  image  of  my  child;  precious 
as  my  own  right  hand  itself,  is  the  happiness  of  my 
wayward  boy.  But  he  must  be  trained  to  virtue,  that 
he  may  grow  up  in  usefulness  and  happiness.  To  this 
■end  I  chasten  him  ;  for  his  good  I  sacrifice  for  the  time 
being,  all  the  pleadings  of  a  parent's  tenderness,  and 
•  cause  pain  to  him  for  whose  sake  I  would  rush  in  the 
midst  of  danger  and  death.  Oh  !  how  little  does  that 
mistaken  child  know  of  the  feelings  of  a  parent,  who 
supposes  that  he  chastens  him  for  his  injury  !  Just  so 
little  does  that  man  know  of  the  character  of  his  heav- 
enly Father,  who  views  his  punishments  in  any  other 
'Ught  but  the  kind  administrations  of  a  friend,  who  seeks 
■our  permanent  good,  and  who  knoweth  that  although 
'**no  chastening  seemeth  joyous  for  the  present,  but 
grievous,  nevertheless,  afterward,  it  yieldeth  the  peace- 
;able  fruits  of  rghteousness  unto  those  that  are  exer 


PUNISHMENT.  75 

cised  thereby."  The  man  who  will  alJege  these  chas- 
risements  as  evidence  of  God's  hatred,  is  not  less  foolish 
than  he  who  should  contend  that  a  parent  did  not  love 
his  child,  because  when  the  child  was  sick,  he  refused 
it  the  food  it  loved,  and  gave  a  bitter  medicine.  The 
fact  is,  this  is  the  best  evidence  of  his  love.  So  Paul 
makes  the  chastisements  of  God  the  proof,  that  he  is  a 
father  and  we  his  children. 

"  If  ye  be  partakers  of  chastisements,  God  dealeth 
with  you  as  children,  for  what  child  is  he  whom  the 
father  chasteneth  not.  But  if  ye  be  without  chastise- 
ments whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  are  ye  illegitimate 
children  and  not  sons."  Here  you  see  the  Apostle  al- 
leges the  fact  that  God  chastises  his  creatures,  as  the 
evidence  that  God  was  a  father,  and  man  a  child. 

I  say  then,  the  character  of  God  as  a  father,  is  proof 
that  all  his  punishments  are  inflicted  in  love,  and  that 
though  he  "  visit  our  transgressions  with  the  rod,  and 
our  iniquities  with  stripes,  nevertheless,  his  loving  kind- 
ness he  will  not  utterly  take  from  us,  nor  suffer  his 
faithfulness  to  fail." 

The  third  argument  that  I  offer  in  proof  of  the  position 
assumed,  is,  that  it  is  clearly  taught  in  scripture.  "Whom 
the  Lord  loveth  he  correcteth,  and  scourgeth  every  one 
that  he  receiveth."  "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  correct- 
eth, even  as  the  father  the  son,  in  whom  his  soul  delight- 
eth."  "Asmany  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten.  Be  zeal- 
ous, therefore,  and  repent."  "  The  Lord  doth  not  afflict 
willingly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men,  but  though  he 
cause  grief  yet  will  he  have  compassion,  according  to  the 
multitude  of  his  tender  mercies."  These  are  the  testimo- 
nies of  the  divine  word,  and  the,'  certainly  teach,  if  they 
teach  any  thing,  that  the  rod  of  punishment  in  God's  hand, 
is  in  the  hand  of  a  father  who  wields  it  only  for  our  good. 


76  PUNISHMENT. 

Here  I  pause,  and  I  shall  leave  you  to  decide  how  far 
I  have  succeeded  in  sustaining  the  several  positions  I 
have  assumed.  I  cannot  leave  this  subject  with  a  con- 
sciousness of  having  fully  discharged  my  duty,  without 
remarking  that  these  views  of  the  divine  government, 
cannot  fail  of  being  most  salutary  in  their  moral  influ- 
ence. It  is  the  certainty,  far  more  than  the  magnitude 
of  punishment,  that  has  a  restraining  influence.  Pun- 
ishment to  be  eff'ectual  in  preventing  crime,  should  be 
near  and  inevitable.  "  Prompt  pay  is  the  life  of  busi- 
ness," has  grown  to  a  proverb;  and  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  true  human  nature,  and  important  instruction  in  the 
case  of  the  man  who  was  caught  in  the  act  of  stealing, 
and  on  being  reminded  by  the  owner  of  the  goods  that 
he  would  pay  for  them  on  the  day  of  judgement,  prompt- 
ly replied,  "  If  I  had  thought  you  would  trust  so  long,  I 
would  have  taken  more."  It  is  a  small  thing,  I  know, 
but  it  is  not  less  instructing.  Who  does  not  know,  that 
when  men  can  get  long  credit,  they  are  apt  to  go  in 
debt  ?  The  great  difficulty  with  the  common  doctrines 
of  the  day  is,  that  these  credits  are  too  long,  and  the 
ultimate  payment  too  uncertain.  They  do  indeed 
xhreaten  the  sinner  with  a  most  severe  and  tremendous 
punishment.  But  it  is  a  great  way  off".  It  lies  beyond 
the  curtain  of  death,  whereas  the  temptation  to  sin  is 
present  and  real. 

But  worse  than  this,  they  give  to  every  man  the  priv- 
ilege of  escaping  even  that  distant  punishment,  on  the 
most  easy  terms.  What  avails  it,  to  tell  a  man  thai 
God  has  threatened  him  with  an  endless  hell,  when  in 
the  same  breath  you  tell  him,  that  there  is  no  need  of 
his  going  there  after  all  ?  What  avails  it  to  tell  a  man 
that  justice  has  a  long  account  against  him,  if  at  the 
same  time,  you  assur »  him  that  a  fit  of  repentance  will 


PUNISHMENT.  77 

it  any  time,  settle  that  account  in  fu  /,  and  give  him  a 
free  and  perfect  discharge  ?  "  Quick  as  the  thunder 
follows  the  lightning,  should  punishment  follow  crime," 
for  in  this  way  alone  can  its  moral  power  be  felt:  and 
it  should  be  as  inevitable  as  it  is  speedy. 

Another  idea  that  must  not  be  forgotten,  is  that  pun- 
ishment in  order  to  be  effectual,  should  not  be  too  severe. 
If  it  is  so  severe  that  iis  justice  is  not  seen,  or  its  kind- 
ness appreciated,  the  weak  and  the  timid  will  faint  and 
fail  before  it,  and  the  stout-hearted  and  rebellious  will 
despise  it,  and  brave  it  with  a  reckless  spirit.  Shall  I 
appeal  to  facts?  Well  then  it  is  a  fact,  that  in  all  ages, 
and  in  ail  countries,  where  the  laws  have  been  most 
sanguinary,  and  the  punishments  most  cruel,  there  has 
crime  most  abounded.  On  the  other  hand,  where  the 
laws  have  been  most  mild,  and  the  punishments  most 
merciful,  there  have  the  laws  been  most  respected  and 
best  obeyed.  The  history  of  the  world,  from  Adam  to 
the  present  day,  will  bear  me  out  in  these  declarations, 
and  the  present  state  of  the  world  will  bear  witness  to 
the  same  truth. 

In  religious  matters,  the  same  principle  will  hold 
good.  Go  to  heathen  lands,  and  mark  the  influence 
that  is  there  exerted  upon  the  moral  character  of  the 
people  by  the  different  systems  of  religion  that  prevail. 
Why  is  it,  that  crime,  in  every  form,  and  in  all  its  ag- 
gravation and  excess,  stalks  abroad  unmasked  in  the 
light  of  noonday  ?  Is  it  because  the  people  do  not  be- 
lieve in  gods  that  will  punish  them?  I  tell  you,  nay; 
for  there  the  drear  and  dark  dungeon  of  Pluto,  with  all 
its  infernal  apparatus  of  torture,  is  constantly  held  up 
before  the  mental  vision  of  the  people ,  and  there  the 
seven  blazing  hells  of  Mohammed  are  heated  seething 
hot,  as  a  terror  to  evil  doers.     Why,  then,  we  ask,  are 


78  PUNISHMENT. 

not  the  people  reformed  ?  The  answer  is,  that  their 
punishments  are  cruel,  and  under  their  fear,  the  heart  be- 
comes callous  and  hard,  and  the  mind  desperate.  But  let 
us  come  nearer  home.  Great  are  the  exertions  that  are 
made  for  the  reform.ation  of  the  people  of  this  country, 
and  yet  we  not  unfrequently  hear  that  the  people  are 
growing  worse  instead  of  better.  May  I  ask  what  is 
the  reason  of  this?  Why  are  not  the  men  of  our  coun- 
try better  ?  Is  it  because  they  do  not  believe  in  pun- 
ishment enough  ?  In  all  conscience,  are  not  the  power 
of  the  devil  and  the  fear  of  hell  preached  enough  to 
content  you  ?  This  is  the  burden  of  the  theme,  in  the 
pulpit  and  in  the  prayer-meeting.  The  tremendous 
wrath  of  an  angry  God,  has  been  proclaimed,  and  one 
continual  blaze  of  damnation  has  been  streaming  from 
the  pulpit,  for  years  past ;  and  every  spectre,  ghost  and 
devil,  in  the  compass  of  the  human  imagination,  has 
been  pressed  into  the  work  of  frightening  men  into  re- 
ligion. And  yet  the  world  is  wicked.  If  there  is  any 
power  in  these  systems,  that  power  has  been  most 
faithfully  tried.  They  have  been  preached  powerfully, 
they  have  been  listened  to  attentively,  they  have  been 
believed  most  faithfully ;  and  yet  the  world  is  not  re- 
formed, and  we  can  scarcely  say  it  is  reforming.  There 
is  no  reforming  power  in  them,  for  they  lack  the  only 
thing  that  can  give  efficacy  to  doctrines  of  punishment, 
the  conviction  that  God  rules  in  everlasting  kindness, 
and,  though  he  smite,  in  the  equity  of  justice  and  judge- 
ment, "  nevertheless  his  loving-kindness  he  will  not  ut- 
terly take  from  us,  nor  suffer  his  faithfulness  to  fail."  1 
leave  my  subject  with  you,  for  the  present,  and  I  pray 
you,  yet  again,  think  of  these  things.  Let  no  serpent 
whisper  in  your  ears  the  seductive  tale:  "Ye  shall  not 
surely  die,"  for  God  hath  said :  "  The  soul  that  sinneth 


rUKlSIDIENT.  79 

It  shall  die."  At  the  same  time  forget  it  not,  I  pray  you, 
he  is  faithful,  and,  though  he  wounds,  it  is  that  he 
may  heal,  and,  though  he  kills,  it  is  that  he  may  make 
alive. 


80  FORGirENXtHU 


SERMON   VI. 
FORGIVENESS  OF   SIN 

"Comfort ye, comfort  ye,  my  people,  saithyour  God  ;  speak  ye,  comforta- 
bly, to  Jerusalem,  and  cry  unto  her  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that 
her  iniquity  is  pardoned,  for  she  hath  received  of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for 
all  her  sins.  Isaiah  xl.  1,2. 

There  are  two  propositions  clearly  established  by  the 
language  of  this  text.  The  first  is,  that  the  people  of 
Jerusalem  had  received  a  just  and  adequate  punishment 
for  all  their  sins;  and  the  second  is,  that  these  same 
sins  had  been  forgiven  or  pardoned.  To  those  who  are 
in  the  habit  of  associating  with  the  word  pardon,  an 
idea  of  the  remission  of  just  punishment,  it  may  appear 
like  a  solecism,  that  any  people  should  be  both  punished 
and  pardoned.  But  this  is  most  plainly  affirmed  in  the 
text,  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  what  may  appear 
still  more  singular,  is  the  fact,  that  they  are  said  to  be 
pardoned  lecause  they  have  been  punished.  The  lan- 
guage is,  "  her  iniquity  is  pardoned, /or  she  hath  receiv- 
ed of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins."  The 
hearer  will  recollect  that;  in  this  course  of  lectures, 
hitherto,  I  have  insisted,  somewhat  strenuously,  upon 
the  doctrine  that  all  sin  shall  most  certainly  be  punish- 
ed; and  I  have,  more  than  once,  denied,  in  the  most 
unequivocal  manner,  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  any 
man  escaping  the  reward  of  his. iniquities.  In  my  last 
discourse,  I  gave  you  the  testimony  of  reason,  scripture, 
and  experience,  all  harmonizing,  as  I  suppose,  in  the 


FORGIVENESS.  81 

declaration  that  the  transgressor  of  God's  laws  must  be 
punished. 

To  this  doctrine  there  are,  in  the  minds  of  many, 
some  objectioijs;  and,  I  may  as  well  remark,  that  it  is 
not  surprising  that  it  should  be  so.  From  the  day  that 
our  first  parents  transgressed,  down  through  all  subse- 
quent ages,  I  may  safely  say,  that  there  has  been  no 
one  thing,  upon  which  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  been  so 
much  exercised,  as  that  of  finding  out  some  salvo  for  the 
guilty  conscience.  Some  hiding  place  from  the  storm — 
some  refuge  from  the  arm  of  justice,  has  been  the  first 
and  highest  object  of  the  guilty  children  of  men.  It  is 
not,  therefore,  surprising  that  some  of  these  "refuges  of 
lies,"  should  still  remain,  and  that  a  sinful  world  should 
still  cherish  the  hope  that  they  can  yet  escape  from  that 
justice  they  so  much  dread.  Notwithstanding  the 
word  of  the  Lord  declares,  as  it  always  has  done: — 
"  There  is  no  darkness  nor  shadow  of  death  where  the 
workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  themselves;"  yet  the  in- 
genuity of  man  has  never  tired  in  devising,  nor  his  hand 
in  executing,  plans  for  eluding  the  vigilance  of  divine 
justice. 

In  a  former  discourse  I  spoke  of  the  doctrine  of  atone- 
ment, which  has  long  been  thought  to  offer  the  means 
of  a  sure  escape  for  the  guilty;  and  I  come  now  to 
speak  of  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness  and  pardon,  which 
is  much  used  for  the  same  purpose ;  and  it  shall  be  the 
business  of  this  discourse  to  lay  before  you  the  true 
scripture  doctrine  of  forgiveness,  and  show  that  it  in  no 
way  conflicts  with  the  idea  of  a  full  and  adequate  pun- 
ishment for  sin.  In  pursuing  this  object  it  will  be 
necessary  to  consider, 

I.  The  doctrine  of  punishment  as  set  forth  in  the 
scriptnres. 


SS  FORGIVENESS. 

This  part  of  our  subject  has  been  in  a  great  measure, 
anticipated  in  my  previous  labours,  and  a  few  additional 
remarks  will  be  all  that  is  necessary.  The  text  says 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  had  "received  of  the 
Lord's  hand  double  for  all  their  sins."  From  this  it  is 
evident,  that  the  justice  of  God  does  not  recognise  the 
principle  of  punishing  some  sins,  and  permitting  others 
to  go  "  un^vhipt  of  justice;"  for  Jerusalem  had  received 
for  all  her  sins. 

The  expression  that  they  had  received  double,  ought 
not  to  be  understood  in  its  most  literal  and  strict  ac- 
ceptation. It  is  a  strong  mode  of  expression,  frequently 
used  in  Scripture,  to  denote  a  very  exact  reward,  ac- 
cording to  the  strict  demands  of  justice.  It  is  probable 
that  this  form  of  expression  originated  in  certain  pro- 
visions of  the  Mosaic  law.  Under  that  law,  the  man 
who  stole,  or  trespassed  upon,  his  neighbour's  goods,  or 
cattle,  was  required  to  restore  double  to  the  owner,  and 
this  was  considered  a  just  and  righteous  punishment. 
Out  of  this  fact,  most  probably,  grew  the  expression  of 
"rendering  double,"  and  it  should  not  be  understood  as 
intending  to  teach  that  any  one  had  received  twice  the 
amount  deserved,  but  merely  that  he  had  received  a  just 
and  equitable  punishment. 

It  is  therefore  obvious,  from  the  text,  that  God  not 
only  punished  the  people  of  Jerusalem  for  all  their  sins, 
but  that  he  had  done  it  in  this  world.  Whether  all  sin- 
ners are  fully  punished  in  this  world,  I  will  not  posi- 
tively say ;  but  if  the  people  of  Jerusalem  were  as  bad 
as  they  are  represented  to  have  been,  I  think  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  any  worse  sinners  than  these ;  and  if 
they  were  fully  punished  in  this  world,  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  the  supposition,  that  all  others  may  receive  the 
reward  of  their  doings  here  also. 


FORGIVENESS.  Kf 

The  popular  notion  of  the  demerit  of  sin  is  thus  set 
forth  in  the  Westminster  Catechism.  '*  Question.  What 
does  each  sin  deserve?  Answer.  Each  sin  deserves 
God's  wrath  and  curse,  both  in  this  world  and  that  which 
is  to  come."  I  scarcely  need  remark,  that  such  an  opin- 
ion of  the  just  demerit  of  sin  stands  utterly  irreconcilable 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  text ;  for  it  destroys  the  possi- 
bility of  any  man's  ever  receiving  the  just  punishment 
of  even  one  sin.  The  punishment  of  a  single  sin  is  here 
set  forth  as  the  wrath  and  curse  of  an  infinite  God  ex- 
tending through  all  time  and  eternity.  It  is  easy  to  per- 
ceive that,  upon  this  ground,  the  time  will  never  come, 
when  it  can  be  said  that  any  man  has  received  a  just  pun- 
ishment for  one  single  sin.  Suppose,  for  instance,  a  man 
has  been  sent  to  hell,  and  has  remained  there  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  years.  Can  it  then  be 
said,  according  to  this  doctrine,  that  he  hath  received 
for  one  sin  ?  to  say  nothing  of  all  his  sins.  Most  evi- 
dently not ;  and  when  ten  thousand  ages  more  shall  have 
passed,  he  will  be  just  as  far  from  having  received  his 
punishment  in  full  as  when  he  first  began. 

But  there  is  still  another  view  of  this  matter.  If  one 
sin  deserves  infinite  and  eternal  wrath,  will  it  please 
some  wise  D.  D.  to  inform  us  how  much  two  sins  de- 
serve by  the  same  rule  ?  This  is  a  very  important  ques- 
tion, and  it  ought  to  be  answered;  because  if  one  sin 
deserves  a  given  amount  of  punishment,  the  common 
sense  of  the  matter  would  seem  to  be,  that  two  sins 
would  deserve  more.  And  if  we  are  to  understand  that 
one  sin  deserves  so  much  that  it  will  take  an  eternity  to 
satisfy  the  demand,  we  are  anxious  to  know  when  the 
time  will  come,  that  it  can  be  said  of  those  whose  hands 
are  stained  with  ten  thousand  crimes,  as  the  text  says 
of  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  "  they  have  received  of  the 


S4  FORGlVEJfESS. 

Lord's  hand  double  for  all  their  sins."  The  truth  is,  that 
all  distinction  between  crimes  is  destroyed  by  this  doc- 
trine, and  the  child  who  for  the  first  time  transgresses 
the  law,  becomes  as  guilty,  and  deserves  a  punishment 
as  severe  and  lasting,  as  the  hardened  offender  upon 
whose  head  is  the  guilt  of  twice  ten  thousand  sins. 

Again,  the  very  nature  of  man  is  a  sufficient  refuta- 
tion of  the  sentiment  in  question.  Man  is  finite  in  all 
his  powers  and  capacities,  and  consequently  in  all  his 
acts,  and  of  course  an  infinite  punishment  for  any  or  all 
his  acts,  is  at  war  with  every  proper  idea  of  justice. 

Still  again,  there  is  no  principle  of  justice  more  ob- 
vious than  this.  The  guilt  of  crime  must,  in  all  cases, 
be  measured  by  the  knowledge  and  intention  of  the  per- 
petrator. Now,  as  man  has  but  a  limited  and  imperfect 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  it  must  follow,  as  a  clear 
and  indubitable  conclusion,  that  no  man  can  commit  a 
crime  which  will  justly  deserve  even  ihe^  semblance  of 
an  infinite  punishment.  But  not  to  insist  on  arguments 
of  this  kind,  the  Scriptures  do  not  inform  us  that  each 
or  all  the  sins  of  man  deserve  "  God's  wrath  and  curse 
both  in  this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come."  It  is  the 
Catechism,  and  not  the  Bible,  that  says  this. 

There  are  other  instances,  also,  besides  the  text,  where 
we  have  an  account  of  sinners  and  their  punishment, 
and  they  give  us  no  intimation  that  the  guilty  received 
a  portion  of  their  punishment  in  this  world,  and  that  the 
remainder  was  reserved  for  a  future  state  of  existence. 
When  our  first  parents  sinned,  it  is  but  reasonable  to 
suppose,  that  God  would  let  them  know  the  worst  of  the 
case.  But  we  do  not  find,  in  all  the  history  of  that  af- 
fair, the  remotest  intimation  that  they  had  rendered 
themselves  obnoxious  to  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God  in 
a  future  world.    The  ground  was  cursed  for  man's  sake; 


FORGIVENESS.  85 

the  woman  was  informed  that  her  sorrows  should  be 
multiplied,  and  the  man,  that  he  should  eat  his  bread 
in  the  sweat  of  his  face,  and  that  he  should  return  to  the 
dust  from  which  he  was  taken ;  and  there  the  curse 
ends.  The  same  is  true  in  the  case  of  Cain,  who  slew 
his  brother.  The  curse  was,  "  Now  art  thou  cursed 
from  the  earth,  which  hath  opened  its  mouth  to  receive 
thy  brother's  blood  from  thy  hand;  when  thou  tillest 
the  ground,  it  shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto  thee  its 
strength  ;  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond  shalt  thou  be  in  the 
earth  ;^^  and  there  is  the  end  of  the  threatening. 

Now,  if  it  were  true  that  Cain  and  our  first  parents 
had  exposed  themselves  to  a  state  of  future  wo,  in  com- 
parison with  which  all  the  miseries  of  this  life  were  but 
as  a  drop  in  the  bucket,  why,  in  the  name  of  humanity 
and  truth,  did  not  God  tell  them  so  ?  Why  was  he  so 
careful  to  point  out  the  little  paltry  evils,  as  they  are 
called,  of  this  life,  and  say  not  one  word  to  them  of  the 
more  awful  and  terrible  woes  to  which  they  were  ex- 
posed in  the  eternal  world  ?  Let  this  matter  be  satis- 
factorily explained,  and  you  will  do  more  toward  con- 
vmcmg  me  that  this  cruel  dogma  of  endless  torments 
may  possibly  be  true,  than  has  ever  yet  been  done. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  that  our  text  also  refers  to  the 
case  of  a  most  wicked  and  rebellious  people,  and  I  think 
it  may  be  asserted  that  no  people  on  earth  ever  deserved 
a  more  severe  punishment  than  these  Jews.  None  ever 
enjoyed  greater  advantages  of  knowing  their  duty,  and 
none  ever  departed  more  widely  from  it ;  and  yet  the 
text  says  that  they  had  been  fully  punished  for  all  their 
sins.  Now,  one  of  two  things  must  be  true.  Either  this 
people  never  deserved  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God  in 
another  world,  or  the  prophet  was  wrong  in  teaching 
that  they  had  been  fully  punished  for  all  »heir  sins ;  loi 
8 


86  FORGIVENESS. 

they  certainly  had  not  yet  been  in  another  wcrld.  But 
if  the  prophet  was  right,  and  these  most  abominable 
sinners  had  received  a  full  and  adequate  punishment, 
then  that  doctrine  which  consigns  them  to  the  intolera- 
ble wrath  and  endless  curse  of  God  in  another  world, 
is  utterly  without  the  countenance  of  the  divine  word. 
This  conclusion  comes  to  us  with  all  the  force  of  the 
clearest  demonstration;  and  I  imagine  that  the  wisest 
theologians  of  the  day  will  find  it  no  easy  task  to  har- 
monize the  doctrine  of  endless  punishment  with  the 
statement  of  the  text,  that  the  wicked  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem  had  received  a  full  and  adequate  punishment 
for  all  their  sins.  I  conclude,  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  the  idea  of  punishment  for  sin,  does  not  necessarily 
involve  the  notion  of  future  torments. 

11.  I  come  now  to  speak  of  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness, 
or  pardon,  as  it  stands  related  to  that  of  punishment. 

"  Her  warfare  is  accomplished,  her  iniquity  is  pardon- 
ed, for  she  hath  received  of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for 
all  her  sins."  You  will  readily  perceive  that  the  com- 
mon doctrine  of  pardon,  which  makes  it  mean  a  remis- 
sion of  just  punishment,  is  at  variance  with  the  text;  for 
in  that  case  it  would  be  impossible  that  a  sin  could  be 
both  punished  and  pardoned.  Aside  from  the  text,  how- 
aver,  there  are  many  and  weighty  reasons  why  such  a 
7iew  of  the  doctrine  cannot  be  allowed.  Some  of  these 
I  may  lay  before  you. 

First  of  all,  justice  forbids  t.  When  the  law  is  trans- 
gressed, justice  requires  tha  the  punishment  should  be 
inflicted ;  and  it  is  an  infringement  upon  the  claims  of 
justice,  to  allow  the  transgressor  to  escape,  under  any 
pretence  or  for  any  purpose. 

It  may  be  urged,  as  it  frequently  has  been,  that  mercy 
^has  claims,  and  thai  if  we  deny  tne  possibility  of  an  <»♦■ 


FORGIYEinSSS.  87 

cape,  we  deny  the  mercy  of  God.  Where  is  mercy, 
says  the  objector,  if  this  doctrine  is  true  ?  My  reply  is, 
that  mercy  is  not,  as  ye  seem  to  suppose,  a  mere  "  ex 
post  facto"  attribute  of  God,  which  had  nothing  to  do, 
or  was  not  born  until  man  had  sinned,  and  the  penalty 
of  the  law  was  impending  over  his  head.  The  fact  is, 
"the  Lord  was  merciful  in  the  beginning;  and  when  he 
made  the  law,  he  was  as  merciful  as  he  is  now,  or  ever 
will  be.  You  ask  me  where  is  mercy,  if  the  penalty  of 
the  law  must  be  inflicted  ?  Suffer  me,  in  my  turn,  to 
ask  a  question.  Where  was  mercy  when  that  law  was 
made,  and  the  penalty  annexed,  if  she  will  not  allow  it 
to  be  executed  now  that  it  is  made  ?  You  would  do 
well  to  remember  that  God  was  always  merciful;  and 
when  the  law  was  made,  and  the  penalty  annexed,  the 
guardian,  pitying  angel  was  there,  and  saw  and  approved 
both  the  laAv  and  the  penalty ;  and  hence  it  is  not  pos- 
sible that  she  will  interfere  with  the  execution  of  a  law 
which  she  once  approved,  for  she  knoweth  that  God 
never  annexed  a  penalty  to  his  law  greater  than  was 
consistent  Avith  the  tenderest  mercy.  If  you  ask  me, 
then,  where  is  mercy  ?  my  answer  is,  where  she  always 
was;  in  God,  in  his  law,  in  his  penalty  to  the  law,  and 
in  all  his  works  and  ways.  He  is  just,  but  his  justice  is 
not  unmerciful,  neither  does  it,  in  any  way,  conflict  with 
his  mercy.  It  is  not  mercy,  but  weakness  and  injustice, 
that  would  refuse  to  execute  a  salutary,  just,  and  mer- 
ciful law. 

I  know  it  is  frequently  said,  that  the  law  knows  no 
mercy;  and  it  is  sometimes  true  of  the  laws  ol  man;  for 
they  are  conceived  in  sin  and  brought  forth  in  iniquity. 
But  I  tell  you  the  law  of  God  is  like  its  author,  full  of 
mercy  and  good  llruits;  and  it  is  not  less  a  dictate  of 
mercy  than  of  justice,  that  it  should  be  executed.  When 


88  FORGIVENESS. 

the  law  was  made,  the  darling  attribute  was  there,  and 
mingled  her  tears  of  pity  in  the  law;  and  she  never  can 
interfere  with  its  execution  without  becoming  weak  and 
unjust. 

Again,  the  common  doctrine  of  pardon,  or  forgiveness, 
is  opposed  to  the  plainest  and  most  positive  declarations 
of  Scripture.  The  Scriptures,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  afford  not  the  least  possible  encouragement  for  any 
man  to  hope  that  he  can  sin  with  impunity.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  plainly  and  most  emphatically  taught, 
that  "  every  man  shall  receive  according  to  his  works," 
and  not  according  as  he  may  happen  to  be  pardoned  or 
not.  "  He  thai  doeth  wrong  shall  receive  of  the  Lord 
for  the  wrong  that  he  hath  done,  and  there  is  no  respect 
of  persons."  Such  is  the  uniform  testimony  of  the  Scrip- 
tures; and  I  have  before  shown  that  these  threatenings 
are  made  without  the  least  shadow  of  a  proviso  what- 
ever. I  need  not,  therefore,  go  over  that  ground  again. 
I  lay  it  down  as  a  thing  proved,  by  Scripture,  reason, 
and  experience,  that  every  man  shall  be  punished  for 
his  sms;  and  as  the  common  doctrine  would  deny  this 
fact,  and  offer  an  easy  escape  from  the  punishment  of 
sm,  I  have  a  right  to  presume  "  a  priori,"  that  it  is  false. 

But  how,  you  ask,  can  it  be  true,  that  men  are  both 
punished  and  pardoned  ?  I  must  remark,  before  I  give 
the  answer,  that  it  is  as  much  your  business  to  answer 
that  question  as  mine ;  for  it  is  not  an  objection  aimed 
at  me  alone,  but  it  strikes  at  the  veracity  of  the  word  of 
the  Lord.  It  is  not  my  word  alone,  which  says  that 
men  may  be  both  punished  and  pardoned  ;  and  hence  it 
is  not  alone  incumbent  on  me  to  explain  the  matter. 
Here  is  the  word  of  the  testimony.  It  says,  explicitly, 
that  the  iniquity  of  Jerusalem  was  pardoned  ;  and  yet  i 
declares,  with  equal  plainness,  that  she  had  been  pun 


FORGIVENESS.  89 

ished  for  all  her  sins.  It  is,  therefore,  not  fess  the  duty 
of  the  objector,  than  it  is  my  duty,  to  explain  how  these 
things  can  be. 

The  great  error  of  modern  professors,  upon  this  sub- 
ject, originates  in  the  fact,  that  they  do  not  distinguish 
between  sin  itself,  and  the  punishment  of  sin.  We 
read  much  in  the  B".ble  of  the  "pardon,"  "remission," 
"  forgiveness,''  "  blotting  out,"  and  "  taking  away,"  of 
sin;  and  these  terms  all  mean  one  and  the  same  thing. 
Now,  I  wish  you  to  observe,  particularly,  that  it  is  sin 
itself,  and  not  the  punishment  of  sin,  which  is  said  to  be 
"  taken  away,"  "  blotted  out,"  "  forgiven,"  "  pardoned," 
or  "  remitted."  We  are  taught  in  scripture  that  God  is 
"  merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger,  long-suffering, 
and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression  and  sin,  and 
that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty."  Hence  we  are 
taught  to  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  not  for  release 
from  its  punishment. 

Hence  also  Solomon  prayed  God  to  forgive  his  people 
all  their  sins;  but  we  do  not  find  him  praying  for  their 
escape  from  the  puni^shment  of  their  sins.  Let  the 
hearer  keep  this  distinction  constantly  in  view ;  let  him 
withdraw  his  attention  from  punishment  entirely,  and 
fix  the  mind  upon  that  "  evil  and  bitter  thing,"  sin  itself, 
as  the  evil  from  which  Jesus  came  to  save  the  world, 
and  remember  that  this  is  the  accursed  thing  that  needs 
to  be  forgiven,  pardoned,  blotted  out,  or  taken  away. 

Further  light  may  be  thrown  upon  our  subject  by  a 
moment's  attention  to  the  original  meaning  of  the  word 
as  it  occurs  in  the  language  of  scripture.  The  word, 
translated  forgiveness,  pardon,  &c.,  is  aphcsis,  from 
aphemi,  which  means  "to  dismiss,  to  liberate,  to  take 
away."  But  let  me  ask,  to  dismiss,  to  liberate,  to  take 
8* 


90  FORGIVENESS. 

aM  a)',  what  ?  The  answer  is,  not  punishment,  but  sin 
itself.  To  pardon  sin  is  not  to  take  away  the  punish- 
ment, but  to  remo/e  the  sin  itself.  Take  a  passage  or 
two:  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world.''  Here  the  same  word  occurs,  in  an- 
other form,  which  is  rendered  forgiveness,  or  pardon, 
and  the  passage  would  as  well  have  been  translated : — 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  which  forgiveth  the  sin  of 
the  world."  Again,  Christ  was  sent  to  preach  deliver- 
ance to  the  captives,  and  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bound."  Now  this  deliverance,  or  setting  at  liberty,  is 
the  same  as  forgiveness  or  pardon;  and,  if  you  ask  what 
he  delivers  the  captives  from,  the  answer  is,  not  punish- 
ment, but  from  the  galling  chains  of  sin.  Hence  it  is 
that,  in  the  Old  Testament,  God  is  represented  as  saying 
that,  in  the  New  Covenant,  he  would  cause  it  to  come 
to  pass  that  "  all  should  know  the  Lord  from  the  least 
even  to  the  greatest,  and  he  would  be  merciful  to  their 
unrighteousness,  and  their  sins  and  iniquities  would  he 
remember  no  more."  This  is  pardon,  or  the  taking 
away  of  sin.  The  man,  who  is  pardoned,  has  his  sins 
removed — he  becomes  an  obedient  son  of  God,  and  his 
sins  and  iniquities  are  remembered  against  him  no 
more,  so  that  he  stands  before  God  in  the  same  condi- 
tion as  if  he  had  not  s-inn«ed  at  all 

Should  it  be  urged  that  this  is  admitting  an  escape 
from  punishment,  I  answer,  by  no  means;  but  it  is 
making  punishment  what  it  is  represented  to  be  in  the 
text,  the  means  of  bringing  about  a  pardon  or  a  remo- 
val of  sin.  I  have  before  shown  that  the  object  of 
punishment  is  to  put  away  sin,  and  secure  obedience. 
Justice  is  not  vindictive.  It  seeks  obedience  alone,  and 
when  the  sinner  becomes  obedient,  the  end  of  justice  is 
answered ;  inrl,  whether  the  punishment  has  been  little 


rORGIVENESS.  91 

or  great,  it  is  a  just  punishment ;  for  justice  can  never  ic 
flict  another  stripe  after  obedience,  the  great  end  of 
justice,  is  secured ;  and  hence  you  will  see  that  pardon 
is  consummated  precisely  Avhere  just  punishment  ends. 
It  was,  therefore,  perfectly  consistent  for  Isaiah  to  say 
that  the  iniquity  of  Jerusalem  was  pardoned,  because 
she  had  received  of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her 
sins. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  these  views  may  be,  to  many 
of  my  hearers,  new;  and,  for  that  reason,  though  I  have 
endeavoured  to  be  as  explicit  as  possible,  I  may  not  yet 
be  fully  understood.  I  shall,  therefore,  beg  your  atten- 
tion while  I  illustrate  a  little  further.  Take  along  with 
you  these  two  principles.  1.  Justice  requires  all  men  to 
be  obedient.  2.  Pardon,  or  forgiveness,  is  the  removal 
of  sin.  With  these  principles  in  view  we  will  take  a 
single  case,  and  by  that  we  will  illustrate  our  subject. 
It  shall  be  the  case  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  of  whose  forgive- 
ness, I  presume,  there  will  be  no  doubt.  He  was  a  most 
violent  and  bitter  enemy  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  he 
persecuted  the  Christians  with  the  most  unrelenting  cru- 
elty. In  the  full  tide  of  his  mad  career,  he  was  arrested 
and  converted  to  Christ.  He  became  a  willing  and  obe- 
dient subject  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  He  is  no 
longer  a  persecutor,  for  his  persecuting  spirit  is  taken 
away,  and  the  sin  of  persecution  is  blotted  out,  to  be 
remembered  against  him  no  more  for  ever.  This  re- 
moval of  the  persecuting  spirit,  and  this  blotting  out  of 
the  sin  of  persecution,  is  forgiveness,  pardon,  or  remis- 
sion of  sin,  by  whichever  name  you  are  pleased  to  call 
it.  That  point,  I  presume,  the  hearer  distinctly  under- 
stands. Yes,  you  say,  you  fully  understand  that  marcer. 
You  see,  well  enough,  how  he  was  pardoned ;  but  you 
do  not  see  how  the  speaker  can  sav  that  he  was  fu-.y 


92  FORGIVENESS. 

r 

punished,  according  to  the  demands  of  justice.  True, 
he  must  have  suffered  intensely,  for  a  short  time,  for  he 
was  struck  to  the  earth,  and  was  made  blind.  But, 
then,  he  was  a  per-secutor,  and  he  pursued  the  victims  of 
his  persecuting  rage  even  unto  strange  cities;  and  you 
cannot  perceive  how  the  speaker  can  think  that  this 
was  a  just  punishment. 

I  will,  with  your  leave,  attempt  an  explanation  of 
that  matter.  And  first,  I  will  observe,  that  I  have  no 
doubt,  if  a  man  in  the  practice  of  crime,  should  be 
smitten  down,  in  the  streets  of  this  city,  by  power  from 
on  high,  and  be  taken  up  blind,  we  should  hear  it  men- 
tioned in  every  pulpit  here  as  a  signal  display  of  the 
divine  justice.  But  let  this  pass.  The  question  is, 
why  do  I  conceive  that  Saul  was  punished  as  much  as 
justice  required  ?  The  answer  is,  for  the  good  reason 
that  the  punishment  was  effectual  in  securing  the  end 
of  justice.  The  only  object  of  punishing,  at  all,  was  to 
make  him  obedient,  and  when  he  became  obedient,  the 
end  of  justice  was  fully  answered,  and  it  had  no  more 
claims  upon  him.  I  grant  you  that,  in  this  case,  the 
end  was  speedily  secured ;  and  T  grant,  also,  that  an- 
other man  might  have  deserved  a  much  more  severe 
chastisement ;  that  is,  it  would  have  taken  more  to  have 
humbled  him  to  obedience,  and,  in  such  a  case,  a  far 
more  severe  punishment  would  have  been  just.  But, 
m  his  case,  his  reformation  came  speedily  about ;  and, 
when  that  was  effected,  it  would  have  been  wrong  to 
chasten  him  more.  The  idea  that  I  wish  to  fix  in  your 
minds  is  this :  There  is  no  rule  which  says  that  every 
degree  of  guilt,  shall  have  such  or  such  a  quantum  of 
punishment,  without  reference  to  its  effect,  for  that 
would  be  retaliation,  and  not  justice.  But  the  rule  is 
this  .'—Justice  claims  obedience,  and  requires  precisely  as 


FORGIVENES?.  93 

much  punishment  as  is  necessary  to  secure  that  end,  no 
more  nor  less.  When  that  obedience  is  secured,  whether 
by  ten  stripes  nor  ten  thousand,  justice  is  satisfied,  and 
equally  well  satisfied  with  the  ten,  as  with  the  ten  thou- 
sand, for  the  sin  is  removed  and  a  just  God  will  remem- 
ber it  no  more. 

Suppose  you  should  take  your  objection  to  the  Saviour, 
and  say  to  hi;:i,  Lord,  thou  didst  not  punish  Saul  of 
Tarsus  enough.  He  was  an  abominable  persecutor,  and 
thou  oughtest  in  justice,  to  have  scourged  him  more  se- 
verely. I  pray  thee  Lord  give  him  a  just"  punishment. 
Methinks,  I  hear  the  reply  from  a  just  and  merciful 
Redeemer.  Poor  child  of  weakness,  wbat  do  you  know 
of  my  justice  ?  Think  you  I  would  seek  revenge  as 
you  would  of  an  enemy  ?  I  saw  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and 
verily  it  was  hard  for  him  to  kick  against  the  pricks, 
but  it  was  not  hard  for  me.  My  only  object  was  to  make 
him  obedient,  I  smote  him,  and  he  fell  prostrate  before 
me,  and  said,  "Lord,  wbat  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do." 
My  justice  was  satisfied,  and  I  took  away  his  sin. 

I  may  observe  further,  that  though  this  may  be  a  new 
view  of  justice  in  God,  yet  it  is  a  kind  of  justice  upon 
which  you  all  practise.  Go  into  your  families,  and  look 
how  it  is  there.  Suppose  one  of  your  children  trans- 
gresses, and  anon  another  is  found  following  the  per- 
nicious way.  You  take  the  first  and  scourge  him.  For 
what  ?  Not  for  your  own  pleasure,  but  for  his  profit, 
that  he  may  become  an  obedient  child.  You  give  him, 
say  five  stripes;  but  he  is  stubborn,  and  it  is  not  until 
he  has  received  twenty,  that  he  submits.  Your  sense 
of  justice  is  satisfied  the  moment  he  submits  and  you 
forgive  him  ;  you  remember  his  sin  no  more  against  him. 
You  now  take  the  second  child  in  hand,  Avho  is  guilty 
of  precisely  the  same  crime  as  the  other.    You  inilicl 


04  FOKGrVENESS. 

upon  him  five  stripes,  and  by  that  he  is  hum  bled  to  sub- 
mission, and  you  forgive  him.  Now  the  point  to  which 
I  direct  your  attention,  is,  that  in  both  of  these  instances 
the  punishment  was  just,  and  in  both  the  sin  was  blot- 
ted out.  In  the  one  case,  the  end  of  justice  was  obtained 
by  five  stripes,  and  in  the  other  by  twenty,  but  in  both, 
the  claims  of  justice  were  fully  satisfied,  because  its  end 
was  attained.  Should  some  one  tell  you,  that  you  had 
not  punished  the  last  as  much  as  the  first,  and  that  you 
ought  to  punish  him  more — you  Avould  reply  at  once, 
that  your  justice  was  not  vindictive.  You  was  not  seek- 
ing revenge  of  your  child,  but  you  seek  only  reformation, 
and  when  that  is  accomplished  your  sense  of  justice  is 
satisfied,  and  you  can  freely  forgive. 

Precisely  in  this  light,  I  look  upon  the  government  of 
God.  He  is  good,  immensely  good,  and  whether  he 
sweetly  invites  by  the  tenderness  of  his  mercy,  or  in  the 
sterner  features  of  justice  he  smites  in  the  equity  of 
judgement,  he  is  equally  good;  and  when  reformation  is 
efiected,  whether  by  one  or  a  thousand  stripes,  his  justice 
is  satisfied  and  he  freely  forgives.  That  forgiveness 
however,  is  not  an  omission  of  punishment,  for  the  pun- 
ishment has  already  been  inflicted,  and  has  wrought  its 
desired  end.  The  sin  is  blotted  out,  and  is  remembered 
no  more.  In  this  light,  therefore,  you  may  see  that  for- 
giveness, so  far  from  being  opposed  to  the  idea  of  a  just 
punishment,  is  frequently  brought  about  by  the  punish- 
ment itself. 

I  have  already  detained  you  beyond  the  time  usually 
allotted  to  a  discourse ;  and  yet  I  must  beg  leave  once 
more,  to  warn  you  against  that  most  pernicious  of  all 
errors,  Avhich  promises  an  easy  escape  from  the  punish- 
ment of  sin.  Terrible  and  certain  are  the  scourgings  of 
guilt,  and  I  pray  you,  be  not  deceived,  for  "  There  is  no 


FORGIVENESS.  9f 

darkness  nor  shadow  of  death  where  the  workers  of 
iniquity  may  hide  themselves,  for  the  Lord  will  not  lay 
upon  man  more  than  is  right."  Let  the  young  and  in- 
experienced take  warning,  and  beware,  for  there  is  a 
God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth,  and  all  hope  of  escape 
from  the  misery  of  sin  is  vain.  No  matter  from  what 
source  it  may  come.  Should  it  come  from  the  pulpit 
under  the  imposing  name  of  forgiveness  or  pardon,  or 
proceed  from  the  deceitful  workings  of  a  vain  imagi- 
nation ;  in  either  case  it  is  but  the  whispering  of  the 
treacherous  serpent,  false  as  perjury,  and  deceitful  as 
sin  itself  The  Lord  God  Almighty  has  spoken,  and 
the  wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished. 


96  DURATION   OF   PUNISIBtENT, 


SERMON  VII. 
DURATION   OF  PUNISHMENT. 

"  For  I  will  not  contend  for  ever :  neither  will  I  be  always  wroth ;  Ibr  tbe 
spirit  should  fail  before  me,  and  the  souls  which  I  have  made." 

Isaiah  Ivil.  16. 

In  my  former  discourses,  I  have  spoken  at  large  upon 
the  object,  the  justice,  and  the  certainty,  of  punishment; 
and  it  is  my  purpose,  at  this  time,  to  discuss  the  ques- 
tion of  its  duration.  I  take  up  this  matter,  because  it 
is  a  point  in  which  we  materially  differ  from  nearly  all 
other  denominations  of  professing  Christians;  and  I  am 
anxious  to  lay  before  you,  in  as  clear  a  manner  as  possi- 
ble, the  reasons  of  our  dissent  from  the  general  voice  of 
the  modern  church  upon  this  subject. 

The  popular  sentiment  is,  that  we  are,  in  this  world, 
probationers  for  eternity,  and  that  the  punishment  of 
sin  is  reserved  to  another  world,  and  will  be  endless  in 
duration.  Our  views  are  widely  different  from  this. 
We  do  not  believe  there  is  the  least  possible  scripture 
authority  for  saying  that  man  is  placed  in  this  world  as 
a  probationer  for  another ;  and  we  are  confident  the  ex- 
perience of  every  man  will  prove  the  truth  of  that 
scripture  which  saith :  "  There  is  no  peace  to  the  wick- 
ed." The  very  fact  that  the  sinner  is,  in  a  measure^ 
punished  in  this  world,  proves  that,  instead  of  being  a 
probation,  it  is,  in  truth,  a  state  of  retribution. 

Whether  a  full  and  complete  punishment  for  all  sin  is 
inflicted   on   every  man,  in  this  state  of  existence,  or 


DURATION   OF   PUNrSHHIENT.  97 

whether  there  is  a  limited  punishment,  in  the  future 
world,  is  a  subject  on  which  Universalists,  both  clergy- 
men and  laymen,  differ  in  opinion.  Some  believe  that 
all  punishment  is  confined  to  this  world  ;  and  others 
that  it  will  extend  into  the  future.  In  this,  however, 
they  all  agree :  that  punishment  will  come  to  an  end, 
and  can  in  no  case  be  endless.  Candor  compels  me  to 
say  that,  for  myself,  as  an  individual,  I  have  not  suffi- 
cient evidence  to  convince  me,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  there 
is  any  sin  or  punishment  beyond  the  grave.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  the  scriptures  teach  the  doctrine  ot  future  pun- 
ishment at  all ;  and,  yet,  I  would  not  very  positively  af- 
firm, that  all  punishment  is  confined  to  this  life.  In  favour 
of  future  punishment  there  are  some  plausible  arguments, 
which  may  be  drawn  from  reason  and  analogy ;  and  as 
a  philosophical  speculation,  I  would  not  strongly  object 
to  that  doctrine.  Indeed,  if  I  were  allowed  to  deduce 
ray  principles  from  the  philosophy  of  mind,  and  from 
analogy^  I  should,  most  probably,  believe  in  the  sen- 
timent. But  my  view  of  the  matter  is  this  :— Neither 
reason  nor  philosophy,  could  discover  the  fact  of  a  fu- 
ture existence,  unless  aided  by  revelation.  It  is  by  the 
light  of  revelation  alone,  that  we  can  discover  the  ex- 
istence of  a  future  state.  Consequently,  all  we  know  of 
the  circumstances  or  condition  of  man,  in  that  future 
state,  we  must  learn  from  revelation  also.  Now  a  man 
may  reason  acutely  upon  that  subject,  and  he  may  draw 
his  conclusions  with  great  plausibility,  in  favour  of  fu- 
ture punishment,  and  when  he  has  done,  I  have  only  to 
say  to  him : — Sir,  you  reason  very  well,  and  your  argu- 
ments are  plausible ;  it  may  all  be  true,  but  I  do  not 
find  it  in  the  Bible,  and  therefore  I  cannot  make  it  an 
article  of  my  faith. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  there   are  manv  true  things 
9 


t 


98  DURATION    OF   PUNISIBIENT. 

1 -which  are  not  in  the  Bible,  and  for  aught  I  know,  this 
[doctrine  may  be  true ;  and  if  you  hold  it  as  a  philosophi- 
cal opinion  of  your  own,  I  will  not  object.  But  when 
you  come  to  say  that  it  is  a  doctrine  of  revelation,  I  am 
bound  by  my  convictions  of  truth,  to  say,  I  have  not  so 
read  my  Bible.  But  upon  this  point  I  will  not  dwell, 
for  it  is  one  of  minor  importance  compared  with  the 
great  principle  in  which  we  all  agree,  that  punishment, 
whether  inflicted  here  or  hereafter,  is  designed  for  the 
good  of  the  punished,  and  will  end  in  the  subjugation 
of  all  things  to  G  .d.  This  is  the  great  point  at  issue 
between  us  and  our  opposers,  and  it  is  this  that  shall 
be  the  subject  of  our  present  discussion. 

From  what  I  have  said  in  my  previous  discourses 
upon  the  nature  and  intent  of  punishment,  you  will 
have  concluded  that  I  cannot  allow  it  to  be  endless.  If, 
as  I  have  shown,  punishment  is  in  its  nature  remedial, 
and  its  object  the  reformation  of  the  offender,  then  evi- 
dently it  cannot  be  endless,  for  in  that  case  it  would  de- 
feat its  own  object. 

Again,  if,  as  I  have  contended,  the  right  to  punish 
orginates  in  the  fact,  that  sin  is  an  evil,  which  punish- 
ment is  designed  to  cure,  then  evidently  a  just  punish- 
ment cannot  be  endless  ;  for  in  that  case  the  punishment 
would  be  worse  than  the  evil  it  ,vas  intended  to  remedy, 
and  would  of  course  be  wrong  in  principle  and  practice. 

Again,  if,  as  I  have  said,  punishment  is  founded  upon 
the  principle  of  goodness,  rather  than  that  of  revenge, 
then  of  course  it  must  end,  otherwise  it  could  do  no 
good. 

Still  once  more  :  if  punishment  is  inflicted  by  a  mer- 
ciful God,  for  the  benevolent  purpose  of  enforcing  obe- 
dience to  salutary  aws,  then  an  endless  punishment  be- 
comes a  solecism,  an  absolute  contradiction  in  terma 


DURATION   OF  PUNISHMENT.  99 

We  might  properly  talk  of  endless  revenge,  or  endless 
wrath  ;  but  to  speak  of  an  endless  punishment,  is  as  ab- 
surd as  it  would  he  to  speak  of  an  endless  month  or  an 
endless  hour.  We  may  properly  say  a  severe  punish- 
ment, or  a  just  punishment,  but  the  moment  you  add  the 
idea  of  endless  duration  to  punishment,  it  is  stripped  of 
all  those  characteristics  that  give  it  the  nature  of  pun- 
ishment; and  it  is,  in  fact,  no  longer  punishment,  but  dark 
and  cruel  revenge. 

Besides,  if  I  was  right,  and  if  the  Bible  is  right,  in  say 
ing  that  every  man  shall  receive  the  reward  of  his  do- 
ings; then  punishment  cannot  be  endless,  because  all 
have  sinned,  and,  in  that  case,  all  must  suffer  an  endless 
infliction  of  punishment.  But  not  to  insist  upon  these 
points,  I  will  proceed  to  give  you  some  other  reasons  for 
rejecting  the  doctrine  of  the  endless  duration  of  punish- 
ment.    I  reject  it, 

I.  Because  it  is  useless,  and  I  have  no  idea  that  an  in- 
finitely wise  God  would  do  a  useless  thing. 

The  infliction  of  endless  wo  upon  a  portion  of  the  hu 
man  family,  could  never  benefit  any  being  in  the  uni- 
verse. Let  us  examine  a  moment,  and  see  if  we  are 
correct  in  this  position.  Suppose  I  were  to  take  you,  in 
imagination,  forward  to  the  future  world.  I  would  lead 
you  down  to  the  brink  of  chat  dismal  hell,  in  which  men 
believe ;  and  as  you  gazed  upon  its  dark  waves  of  liquid 
fire,  rolling  and  dashing  its  shore,  "  mixed  whh  the 
damned,  like  pebbles,"  and  listened  to  the  hideous 
groans  and  yells  of  despair,  rising  upon  the  sulphurous 
vapour  that  ascends  and  mingles  with  the  songs  of  the 
redeemed,  and  the  incense  from  the  altar  of  heaven,  I 
would  ask  you,  what  good  would  result  from  all  this 
world  of  torment  ?  Will  it  do  God  any  good?  Nay; 
for  he  is  infinitely  above  being  benefited,  even  by  the 


J  00  rUKATlON   OF   PUNISHMENT. 

happiness  of  his  creatures ;  much  less  can  their  suffer- 
ings make  him  more  happy,  or  render  more  secure  the 
stable  foundations  of  his  throne.  Will  it  do  the  angels 
of  heaven  any  good  ?  No ;  for  there  is  joy  in  heaven, 
among  the  angels,  when  one  sinner  re[>enteth  and  lurn- 
eth  to  God.  How,  then,  can  they  be  rendered  happy  by 
the  sins,  the  curses,  and  the  blasphemies  of  hell?  Will 
it  do  the  saints  in  glory  any  good  ?  Nay  ;  for  their  feli- 
city is  perfect ;  and  to  say  that  their  joys  will  be  increas- 
ed by  the  sufferings  of  their  brethren,  is  to  transform 
them  into  demons  of  cruelly.  Will  it  do  the  sufferers 
themselves  any  good  ?  No;  for  it  is  to  be  endless,  and 
it  cannot,  of  course  make  them,  at  any  future  time,  either 
better  or  happier.  Well,  will  it  do  even  the  fabled 
devils  themselves  any  good  ?  Nay ;  for  we  are  told  that 
their  case  is  as  hopeless  as  that  of  the  souls  of  the 
damned.  I  ask,  then,  Cui  bono  ?  In  the  name  of  rea- 
son, what  good  do  you  expect  to  result  from  these  un- 
told miseries?  And  I  say,  no  man  ever  has,  and  I  may 
safely  assert  that  no  man  ever  will,  answer  that  question. 

I  insist,  then,  that  the  thing  is  useless,  in  the  broadest 
sense  of  the  term;  for  neitherGod  nor  man,  saints  nor 
angels,  wicked  men  nor  devils,  can  reap  either  pleasure, 
profit,  or  advantage,  from  it.  But  it  is  not  merely  use- 
less in  itself,  for  the  belief  of  it-  is  equally  useless.  Who 
on  earth  was  ever  made  happier  by  believing  that  half 
the  world  must  suffer  indescribable  and  endless  tor- 
ments ?  Is  the  mourner  comforted,  the  widow  or  the 
orphan  made  to  rejoice,  the  poor  supported,  the  sick  and 
afflicted  strengthened,  or  the  dying  cheered,  by  faith  in 
a  burning  hell  ?  Nay ;  but  it  wrings  many  hearts  with 
anguish,  and  mingles  the  bitterest  dregs  in  the  cup  of 
Borrow. 

I  may  be  told,  perhaps,  that  it  is  not  pretended  that 


DURATION   OF   PUNISHMENT.  101 

this  is  a  happifying  doctrine;  but  it  claims  to  have  a 
most  salutary  moral  influence.     But  I  deny  this  position 
entirely,  and  I  give  it  you  as  the  sober  conviction  of  my 
judgment,  that  no  man  on  earth  was  ever  made  letter 
by  such  a  fluth.     The  Saviour  laid  the  foundation  of  all 
Christian  virtue  in  love  to  God,  to  be  rendered  with  the 
whole  heart,  and  to  our  neighbour  as  ourselves.     I  ap- 
peal  to  you,  if  there  is  not  a  most  palpable  absurdity  in 
the  thought,  that  a  man  should  be  brought  to  love  God 
through  fear  of  hell,  or  that  he  should  love  his  neigh- 
bour  because   he   believed   that   neighbour   would  °be 
damned.     The  truth  is,  the  influence  of  this  faith,  so  far 
as  it  has  any  moral  influence,  is  in  the  opposite  side  of 
the  scale.     The  man  who  believes  that  God  sustains 
such  a  character,  that  he  will,  for  no  purpose,  unless  it 
be  to  gratify  a  malignant  spirit  of  revenge,  torture  the 
helpless  creatures  of  his  creation  and  power,  through  the 
ages  of  eternity,  will  find  it  difficult  to  love  him'' with 
the  whole  heart.     But  if  he  should  love  God,  it  is  natu- 
ral to  suppose  that  he  would  partake  of  his  spirit;  and 
if  he  believed  that  God  hated  his  neighbour,  it  would 
be  natural  for  him  to  hate  him  also;  and  the  more  cor- 
dially he  hated  him,  the  more  would  he  be  like  his  God. 
I  appeal  to  the  history  of  the  church,  and  it  shall  bear 
me  witness,  that  eff'ects  similar  to  what  the  above  prin- 
ciples would  lead  us  to  anticipate,  have  followed  this 
sentiment  in  every  age.     Tertullian,  in  the  third  cen- 
tury, was  the  first  man,  of  whom  we  have  any  account, 
who  asserted  the  strict  eternity  of  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked ;  and  that  he  partook  largely  of  its  spirit,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact,  that  he  exulted  in  the  prospect  of  the 
suflTerings  of  his  fellows,  and  said  he  should  "  triumph 
and  laugh,"  and  rejoice,  as  he  saw  the  Gentiles  writhing 
in  hell.  .  ^ 

9* 


102  DURATION  OF  PUNISHMENT. 

In  the  dark  ages,  this  doctrine  prevailed,  and  every 
persecutor  who  raised  the  axe  or  lighted  the  faggot, 
found  his  excuse  in  the  assertion,  that  eternal  conse- 
quences were  at  stake,  and  it  was  better  that  he  should 
burn  the  body,  than  tliat  God  should  burn  the  soul  in  an 
endless  fire.  Its  footsteps,  in  every  age,  have  been 
marked  with  the  blood  of  victims  immolated  upon  its 
altars,  and  now,  all  reeking  with  gore,  it  has  the  auda- 
city to  come  down  to  us,  and  claim  to  be  the  peaceable 
and  moralizing  doctrine  of  the  benevolent  and  compas- 
sionate Son  of  God.  But  I  object  to  the  sentiment  in 
question, 

11.  Because  it  is  unmerciful  and  unjust. 

That  there  is  no  mercy  in  it,  is  most  perfectly  eviden 
even  to  the  superficial  observer ;  for  it  says,  expressly, 
that  not  one  ray  of  mercy,  or  of  hope,  can  ever  gleam 
upon  the  darkness  and  despair  of  hell;  and  though  the 
miserable  sufferers  shall  plead  with  groans  and  cries, 
enough  to  melt  the  solid  rock,  for  some  mitigation  of 
their  torments,  yet  their  cries  will  die  away  in  the  dis- 
mal caverns  of  their  prison,  and  God's  ear  will  not  hear, 
nor  his  hand  grant  them  a  moment's  respite  or  allevi- 
ation. There  is  no  mercy  in  such  a  doctrine,  and  though 
men  may  dignify  it  with  the  name  of  justice,  or  give  it 
any  other  soft  name,  it  is  no  more  nor  less  than  cruelty, 
unmingled  and  unmitigated  cruelty,  red  as  blood  and 
black  as  hell,  without  one  redeeming  ray  of  pity,  mercy, 
or  justice,  to  relieve  its  sombre  shadowings. 

But  we  shall  be  told,  that  God  is  just,  as  well  as  mer- 
ciful, and  that  his  justice  requires  the  endless  sufferings 
of  sinners.  I  know  that  God  is  just,  and  for  that  very 
reason,  the  docmne  cannot  be  true,  for  it  subverts  the 
very  foundations  of  justice.  Pray,  tell  me  what  does 
justice  require  ?   I  answer  for  you :—  t  requires  all  men 


rURATION   OF    PUNISHMENT.  103 

to  love,  serve,  and  obey  God.  He  says,  to,  ont  and  all, 
"My  son,  give  me  thine  heart."  He  clamis  the  affec- 
tions and  the  obedience  of  all  May  I  ask  if  that  is  a 
just  claim,  or  an  unjust  one  ?  Has  God  a  just  right  to 
the  obedience  and  affections  of  man — of  every  man?  or 
does  he  claim  something  that  is  not  properly  his  ?  If 
his  claim  is  just,  you  can  see,,  as  well  as  your  speaker, 
where  justice  tcill  lead  you.  It  would  give  to  God,  the 
great  Father  of  all,  the  obedience  of  a  world;  and  its 
claims  will  never  be  answered  until  all  hearts  are  his, 
and  all  knees  bow  to  him. 

But  you  say  some  men  will  not  obey,  nor  love  God  as 
they  ought.  Granted.  But  what  then  ?  Must  God 
connive  at  their  injustice,  and  put  them  in  a  place  where 
they  can  never,  by  any  possibility,  render  him  that  obe- 
dience which  is  his  ?  And  will  these  two  wrongs  make 
one  right,  think  you  ?  I  lay  the  axe  here  at  the  root  of 
the  plea  for  endless  misery,  which  is  raised  upon  the 
justice  of  God.  I  go  back  to  the  foundation  of  all  jus- 
tice. I  commence  with  the  claims  of  heaven  upon  man. 
God  claims  the  obedience  of  the  world,  and  that  claim 
is  founded  upon  the  first  and  immutable  principles  of 
justice.  For  this  reason,  and  for  this  alone,  God  has  a 
right  to  punish  men  for  their  sins.  If  God  had  no  right 
to  the  obedience  of  men,  he  could  have  no  right  to  pun- 
ish them  for  their  disobedience. 

The  right  to  punish,  then,  is  founded  upon  God's  pre^ 
vious  right  to  obedience,  and  must  always  be  subservient 
to  -t.  It  IS,  therefore,  again  evident,  that  the  object  of 
punishment  is  not  to  simply  do  justice  to  man,  but  to 
compel  himio  do  justice  to  himself  and  his  God.  When 
man  transgresses,  he  does  an  act  of  injustice.  In  the 
strong  language  of  the  sacred  penman,  "  he  robs  God.** 
Now,  the  ob'ect  of  punishment  is  to  compel  him  to  da 


104  DURATION   OF    PUNISHIVIENT. 

justice,  to  serve  God  as  he  ought.  Hence  it  is  evident 
that  justice  must  for  ever  forbid  the  infliction  of  any 
punishment  which  would  defeat  this  object,  as  it  for- 
bade the  injustice  of  the  transgression  in  the  outset. 

Look  at  it  in  another  light.  The  doctrine  is,  that  in 
hell  men  will  transgress  the  laws  of  God  througli  all 
eternity,  and  then  the  matter  will  stand  thus: — When 
man  sins  he  does  an  act  of  injustice  to  God — he  com- 
mits robbery  upon  high  heaven.  For  this  cause,  God 
places  him  in  hell,  where  he  is  compiled  to  sin  eter- 
nally ;  and  so  by  an  eternal  series  of  sms,  he  seeks  to 
satisfy  the  demands  of  that  same  justice  which  was 
outraged  by  the  same  acts  in  the  first  instance  ! ! 

Singular  justice  this  !  About  such  justice  as  would  be 
exercised  in  punishing  a  man  who  had  committed  one 
act  of  robbery,  by  compelling  him  to  rob  every  man  he 
meets.  As  if  it  was  not  enough  that  man  had  trampled 
upon  God's  justice  in  this  world,  by  his  crimes,  but  in 
the  next  he  must  needs  be  apprenticed  to  the  devil,  and 
taught  to  bid  stout  defiance  to  the  claims  of  justice 
through  a  long  eternity.  And  this  is  justice  !  And  this 
the  course  pursued  by  an  infinitely  wise  God,  to  enforce 
the  deman<is  of  that  justice  which  saith,  "  Thou  shah 
worship  and  serve  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shah 
thou  serve  ! !  I  "  The  thought  is  too  absurd  to  need  any 
other  refutation  than  the  mere  statement  of  it  in  its  true 
colors. 

Talk  of  justice  with  an  endless  hell  before  you,  where 
countless  millions  mourn,  and  curse  and  blaspheme  and 
trample  under  foot  every  principle  of  justice,  for  ever 
and  ever !  You  might  as  well  talk  of  justice  in  Saul  of 
Tarsus,  when  he  "breathed  out  threatening  and  slaugh- 
ter, and  compelled  men  to  blaspheme,"  or  ye  might  as 
well  look  for  it  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition,  where 


DILATION    OF    rUNISHMENT.  106 

lofturing  racks  and  engines  of  torment  were  plied  to 
compel  men  to  violate  their  consciences  and  sin  against 
God.  Justice  is  no  child  of  hell,  whose  residence  is  in 
the  dark  dominions  of  sin  and  Satan.  Her  origin  is  ia 
heaven,  she  is  the  first-born  of  the  eternal,  and  her  res- 
idence is  in  these  bright  and  peaceful  realms  where  God 
is  obeyed,  and  all  hearts  render  unto  him  that  which  is 
most  justly  his,  all  honor  and  blessing,  thanksgiving  and 
glory  for  ever  and  ever  I 

I  repeat  again,  justice  requires  the  obedience  of  all 
men;  all  her  acts  are  subservient  to  this,  and  justice  will 
never  be  done  till  a  world  of  iniejligences  is  brought  to 
love,  serve  and  obey  that  God  whose  they  are,  and  on 
whom  they  all  depend.  The  doctrine  of  the  endless 
duration  of  punishment,  denies  that  man  will  ever  render 
to  God  the  homage  and  service  which  is  his  due.  It 
compels  men  to  blaspheme,  and  crimsons  the  altar  of 
justice  with  the  blood  of  cruelty  and  revenge.  It  is, 
therefore  unjust  and  consequently  cannot  be  true. 

There  is  another  view  of  the  subject,  in  which  the 
injustice  of  the  doctrine  is  apparent.  One  of  the  plain- 
est principles  of  justice  is  that  which  requires  that  there 
should  be  some  proportion  between  crime  and  its  pun- 
ishment. Hence  a  sentiment  which  annexes  an  infinite 
punishment  to  the  crimes  of  a  finite  being,  violates  one 
of  the  first  and  clearest  principles  of  justice,  human  and 
divine.  IMuch  more  I  might  say  upon  this  point— less 
I  could  not  say.  I  have  merely  thrown  out  these  hints 
upon  which  you  will  do  well  to  reflect  at  your  leisure. 

To  me  it  is  a  matter  of  unspeakable  joy,  that  God  is 
just,  for  I  hail  that  fact  as  the  certain  pledge,  that  all 
crime,  rebelli<->n  and  injustice  must  one  day  cease. 

I  object  to  the  docrine  of  the  endless  duration  of 
punishment. 


106  DURi\T10N    OF    PUNISHMENTc 

III.  Because  it  is  unscriptural. 

This  is  with  me  an  insuperable  barrier  to  a  belief  of 
that  sentiment.  I  could  receive  a  doctrine  against  which 
there  were  some  afparent  objections,  if  I  found  in  its 
favor  a  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  But  when  T  find  a  doc- 
trine in  itself  unreasonable,  unjust,  cruel  and  useless, 
and  have  added  to  this,  the  clear  testimony  of  scripture 
against  it,  I  cannot  receive  it.  Why  the  very  language 
of  my  text,  if  there  was  not  another  passage  in  the 
Bible  of  the  like  import,  would  render  it  a  hopeless  task 
to  make  the  endless  duration  of  punishment  harmonize 
with  scripture.  "I  will  not  contend  forever,  neither 
will  I  be  always  wroth,  for  the  spirit  should  fail  before 
me  and  the  souls  that  I  have  made."  How  can  the  doc- 
trine of  interminable  and  unquenchable  wrath  be  made 
to  harmonize,  for  a  moment,  with  such  a  passage  as  this. 
Does  not  the  doctrine  assert,  that  the  wrath  of  God  will 
abide  upon  the  damned  in  hell  as  long  as  God  himself 
exists,  and  that  he  will  never  cease  to  contend  against 
them  ?  And  does  not  the  text,  as  if  on  purpose  to  con- 
tradict such  a  sentiment,  expressly  and  most  emphati- 
cally declare,  that  "  he  will  not  be  always  wroth,  neither 
will  he  contend  for  ever !  " 

I  need  not  pause  here  to  give  you  a  long  explanation 
of  the  term  wrath  as  applied  to  God.  "Anger  resteth 
in  the  bosom  of  fools,"  and  as  God  is  wise,  we  cannot 
suppose  for  a  moment,  that  he  harbors  such  a  feeling  as 
we  call  anger  in  man.  He  scourges  men  for  their  sins, 
and  speaking  according  to  man's  views  of  things,  he  is 
said  to  be  angry;  but  it  is  a  remarkable  circumstance 
that  wherever  the  anger  of  God  is  mentioned  in  the 
Bible,  it  is  represented  as  being  but  momentary,  whereas 
his  mercy  \z  as  uniformly  said  "to  endure  through  all 
generations."    "In  a  little  wrath,  I  hid  my  face  from 


DURATION    OF   PUNISHJIENT.  107 

thee  for  a  small  moment,  but  with  everlasting  kindness 
will  I  revisit  thee,  saith  the  Lord  thy  Redeemer."  "Sing 
unto  the  Lord,  oh  !  ye  saints  of  his,  and  give  thanks  at 
the  remembrance  of  his  holiness,  for  his  anger  endureth 
but  a  moment,  in  his  favor  is  life.  Weeping  may  endure 
for  a  night,  but  joy  coraeth  in  the  morning."  "  The 
Lord  is  merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger  and  plen- 
teous in  mercy,  he  will  not  always  chide,  neither  will  he 
keep  his  anger  for  ever."  "lam  merciful,  saith  the 
Lord,  and  I  will  not  keep  my  anger  for  ever." 

These  are  the  uniform  teachings  of  the  scriptures  m 
regard  to  the  duration  of  what  they  call  the  "  anger  of 
the  Lord."  But  how  differently  do  they  speak  of  his 
mercy  !  "  The  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  him,  and  his  right- 
eousness unto  children's  children."  "  Thy  mercy,  oh ! 
Lord  endureth  for  ever;  let  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
say  so,  for  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever."  In  these  pas- 
sages you  will  discover  the  truth  of  our  position,  that 
the  anger  of  the  Lord  is  set  forth  as  being  but  momen- 
tary, while  his  mercy  is  enduring  as  his  own  throne. 
I  say,  therefore,  that  a  doctrine  which  reverses  this  prin- 
ciple, which  limits  the  mercy  of  God  to  a  fragment  of 
time,  and  makes  his  anger  endure  through  all  eternity, 
is  most  clearly  and  incontrovertibly  unscriptural.  The 
Bible  says,  "God's  mercy  endureth  for  ever;"  but  this 
doctrine  asserts  that  the  time  will  soon  come  when  the 
mercy  of  God  shall  be  clear  gone  for  ever.  The  Bible 
asserts  that  "  the  anger  of  the  Lord  endureth  but  a 
moment,"  and  that  "  he  will  not  cast  off  for  ever;"  but 
this  doctrine  affirms  that  he  will  cast  off  for  ever,  and 
that  his  merciless  anger  shall  abide  world  without  end. 

The  hearer  may  tell  me  that  we  read  much  in  the 
fiible  about  an  everlasting  punishment,  and  it  must  be 


108  DURATION   OF   PUNISHMENT. 

endless,  else  such  a  term  would  not  be  applied  to  it.  I 
grant  that  you  may  have  read  of  an  everlasting  punish- 
ment in  the  Bible,  but  I  apprehend  you  have  not  read 
as  much  about  it  as  you  imagine.  There  is  but  one  soli- 
tary instance  in  the  Bible  where  the  term  "  everlasting'' 
is  applied  to  punishment,  and  that  is  in  Mathew,  xxv 
46.  "  These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment.' 
That  is  the  only  passage  in  the  sacred  book  where  the 
phrase  "  everlasting  punishment  "  occurs.  But  even  if 
the  phrase  occurred  a  thousand  times,  it  would  avail 
nothing  in  the  case,  for  no  honest  and  just  mode  of  in- 
terpretation would  allow  such  a  construction  of  that 
phrase,  as  to  make  it  contradict  those  other  and  numer- 
ous declarations  of  the  limited  duration  of  all  that  bears 
the  name  of  anger  in  God.  Besides  the  terra  "  ever- 
lasting "  is  not  used  in  scripture  to  denote  a  strictly  end- 
less duration. 

The  priesthood  of  Aaron  was  called  an  "  everlasting 
priesthood."  The  possession  of  Canaan,  by  the  Israel- 
ites, was  called  an  "  everlasting  possession,"  and  many 
other  things  are  called  "  everlasting,"  which  we  know 
have  long  since  come  to  an  end.  Such  being  the  use  of 
the  word  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  but  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  it  is  used  in  the  same  sense  in  the  New, 
and  no  good  or  plausible  reason  can  be  given,  why  our 
Saviour  should  mean  more  by  the  term  than  Moses  and 
the  Prophets  meant  by  it.  Besides  if  you  are  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  original  language  of  the  scriptures, 
go  and  consult  those  who  are,  and  I  care  not  what  their 
creeds  may  be,  if  they  are  honest  men,  they  will  tell  you 
that  the  word  which  is  translated  "everlasting"  in  that 
passage  is  exceedingly  ambiguous  ;  that  it  means  a  long 
and  indefinite  period  of  time,  and  that  the  precise  length 
of  time  intended  by  it  can  never  be  ascertained  by  the 


DURATION   OF   PtTNISHMENT.  109 

word  itself,  but  must  in  all  cases  be  determiued  by  the 
nature  of  tJie  subject  to  which  it  is  applied.  With  this 
principle  in  view,  which  was  never  disputed  to  my 
knowledge,  it  appears  to  me  that  a  candid  and  ingen- 
uous mind  more  intent  on  learning  truth  than  supporting 
a  favorite  creed,  would  reason  thus  : — I  find  here  a  word 
applied  to  punishment  which  is  ambiguous;  it  may 
mean  an  endless  duration,  or  it  may  not ;  and  this  must 
be  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  subject.  Now  in 
this  case,  the  subject  is  punishment,  a  thing  which 
from  its  very  nature  must  be  limited  in  duration,  and 
which,  in  the  Old  Testament,  we  are  often  told,  can  en- 
dure comparatively  for  a  moment  only.  Hence  I  con- 
clude, that  the  word,  in  this  instance,  must  be  used  in 
the  same  limited  sense,  in  which  it  is  used  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

Thus  candor  would  reason  ;  but  bigotry  has  for  years 
been  clinging  with  the  grasp  of  death  to  the  cruel  dog- 
ma of  endless  punishment,  and  alleging  this  word  as  its 
proof;  reluctantly  confessing,  at  the  same  time,  that  it 
does  not  imply  necessarily,  an  endless  duration.  It  is 
in  vain,  she  is  told,  that  the  word  is  often  used  in  a  lim- 
ited sense;  that  punishment  becomes  revenge,  and  not 
punishment,  as  soon  as  it  is  m.ade  endless.  In  vain,  is 
she  told,  that  utility,  mercy,  justice,  and  reason ;  nay, 
even  God  himself,  in  his  holy  word,  forbids  the  inflic- 
tion of  endless  wo ;  she  has  no  head  to  reason,  no  heart 
to  feel,  and  she  perseveres  in  her  reckless  determination 
10  immolate  the  multitude  of  the  human  race  upon  her 
altar  of  crnelty,  blasphemously  dedicated  to  a  God  of 
justice. 

From  all  that  I  have  said,  the  conclusion  is  inevita- 
ble, that  the  duration  of  punishment  must  be  limited. 
It  is  not  an  end  in  the  divine  government,  but  is  em- 
10 


110  DUBATIC^f    OF   PUNISHMENT. 

ployed  as  the  means  of  securing  a  glorious  and  blessed 
result.  The  precise  time  of  its  continuance,  no  mortal 
man  can  tell,  for  that  matter  God  has  not  revealed. 
Of  this  one  thing,  however,  we  may  be  certain — it  will 
continue  no  longer  than  a  wise  and  merciful  God  sball 
see  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  good  of  its  creatures. 
Its  end  shall  at  last  be  accomplished,  all  things  shall  be 
subdued  unto  God,  and  he  snail  be  '*  all  in  all." 


nJDGEMENT.  HI 


8ERM0N   VIII. 
.TUt  GEMKNT. 

"Poi  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  his  an- 
gels ;  and  then  he  shall  reward  everj'  man  according  to  his  works.  Verily  1 
say  unto  you,  there  be  some  standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  death,  till 
they  see  the  Son  of  Mail  coming  in  his  kingdom."     Matthew  xvi.  27, 28. 

There  is  not,  perhaps,  in  the  whole  range  of  Chris- 
tian theology,  a  subject  more  worthy  of  our  attention 
than  the  doctrine  of  judgement.  That  man  is  an  ac- 
countable being,  and  that  God  will  reward  us  for  our 
virtues  and  punish  us  for  our  vices,  are  truths  that  can- 
not be  disputed  by  any  man  who  believes  the  Bible. 
But  when  is  the  world  to  be  judged,  and  what  are  the 
rewards  and  punishments  which  God  awards  to  the  vir- 
tuous and  vicious,  aro  questions  upon  which  there  is  a 
wide  difference  of  opinion.  On  one  hand  it  is  believed 
that  the  throne  of  judgement  is  erected  in  the  ear/A,  and 
that  men  stand  before  the  bar  of  the  judge  of  all  here, 
in  time.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  thought,  that  men  are 
probationers  for  eternity,  that  justice  and  judgement  are 
not  executed  on  earth,  but  are  reserved  to  a  great  and 
fearful  day  beyond  death,  and  the  resurrection,  when 
slumbermg  justice  shall  ai  ise  and  slay  her  thousands, 
and  mete  out  endless  rewards  and  punishments  to  those 
who  stand  at  her  bar.  While  I  avow  myself  as  an  ad- 
vocate of  the  former  of  these  opinions,  I  shall  endeavcr 
fairly  to  state,  and  candidly  illustrate  the  latter. 

By  some  ui7  accountable  means  the  opinion  has  obtain- 


112  JUDGEBIENT. 

ed,  that  we,  as  a  denomination,  deny  the  account  Ability  of 
man  altogether,  and  discard  entirely  the  idea  that  man 
is  to  be  judged  for  his  works.  It  therefore  becomes  a 
duty,  which  I  owe  to  myself,  and  the  cause  of  truth,  to 
state,  in  the  outset,  that  this  is  a  gross  mistake.  None 
believe,  more  fully  than  we  do,  in  the  accountability  of 
man,  and  none  maintain  with  more  constancy  the  grea 
truth,  that  "  the  Lord  is  our  Judge,"  and  that  he  wil 
reward  every  man  according  to  his  works.  Let  it 
therefore  be  distinctly  understood,  that  the  question  at 
issue,  is,  not  whether  men  are  accountable  beings;  but 
whether  their  accounts  are  to  remain  unsettled  till  an- 
other world.  It  is  not,  whether  men  are  to  be  judged 
at  all ;  but  whether  their  judgement  shall  linger  to  an- 
other world  ? 

The  doctrine  of  a  day  of  future  judgement,  prevails  so 
generally,  and  is  deemed  so  important,  that  I  shall  feel 
myself  warranted,  in  giving  it  a  somewhat  thorough 
and  searching  examination. 

The  judgement-scene  has  been  a  favorite  theme  with 
those  w]io  appear'  more  intent  on  exciting  the  passions 
and  alarming  the  fears,  than  enlightening  the  under- 
standing. We  have  often  heard  the  most  vivid  and 
glowing  descriptions  of  the  horrors  of  that  dreadful  day 
when  a  universe  shall  stand  at  the  bar  of  God,  and  re- 
ceive that  dread  sentence  from  which  there  is  no  ap- 
peal ;  and  we  have  been  exhorted  to  speak  every  word, 
think  every  thought,  and  perform  every  act,  in  reference 
to  that  tremendous  day,  for  which  all  other  days  were 
made.  There,  it  is  supposed,  every  thought,  word  and 
act,  will  be  brought  into  the  account;  and  for  this  rea- 
son, it  is  thought  to  be  the  best  safeguard  of  virtue's 
most  holy  cause,  and  to  interpose  the  most  salutary  re- 
straint upon  the  workings  of  the  spirit  of  disobedience. 


JUDGEMENT.  US 

I  doubt  not  that  there  are  many  sincere  and  honest 
minds  who  really  believe,  that  the  rejection  of  this  doc- 
trine would  greatly  endanger  the  public  morals,  and  it 
is  but  just,  that  I  should  view  it  for  a  moment  in  that 
light. 

If  we  were  to  appeal  to  facts,  they  would  give  no 
very  favorable  comment  upon  the  moralizing  influence 
of  the  doctrine  in  question.  Every  persecutor  that  has 
ever  lived,  has  acted,  as  he  said,  in  full  view  of  his  re- 
sponsibility, and  with  a  full  determination  to  stand  ac- 
quitted in  the  great  day  of  judgement.  Instead  of  staying 
the  murderous  hand,  it  has  armed  it  with  daggers  and 
strengthened  it  in  the  Avork  of  death.  In  Spain  it  rear- 
ed an  Inquisition,  and  murdered  more  than  half  a  mil- 
lion human  beings.  In  our  own  countiy  it  whipped  the 
Baptists,  and  hung  the  witches  and  the  Quakers;  for  be 
it  remembered,  that  all  these  enormities  were  commit- 
ted by  those  who  believed  in  the  doctrine  m  question, 
and  they,  every  one  of  them,  plead  as  their  excuse,  the 
fact  of  their  accountability  to  God,  and  their  ardent  de- 
sire to  stand  acquitted  m  the  great  day  of  judgement. 
These  are  facts,  written  for  our  instruction  and  admoni- 
tion on  the  pages  of  history,  and  they  certainly  give  us 
no  very  strong  evidence  of  the  power  of  this  doctrine  to 
cultivate  and  cherish  the  mild,  tender,  and  peaceable 
spirit  of  the  Gospel. 

Besides  all  this,  if  you  will  look  around  you,  you  will 
see  daily  in  this  city,  and  all  others,  men  who  believe  in 
this  doctrine,  rushing  into  the  depths  of  sin  notwith- 
standing their  faith.  The  reason  is  obvious.  Men  al- 
ways act  under  the  influence  of  present  motives,  or 
those  that  are  near  at  hand.  Parents  could  never  main- 
tain family  government  by  teaching  their  children,  that 
they  wo  ild  recKoo  vith  them  at  tl  e  age  of  forty,  and 


114  JUDGEMENT. 

reward  or  punish  them  at  a  subsequent  period.  No 
civil  government  could  exist  and  maintain  its  laws  for  a 
single  year,  by  acting  upon  the  principle  that  it  would 
only,  for  the  present,  look  on  and  mark  down  crimes  to 
be  punished  twenty  y.-^ars  from  date.  And  if  a  law, 
whose  penalty  was  deferred  for  the  short  space  of 
twenty  years,  would  be  but  a  dead  letter ;  need  wc 
wonder  that  nren  should  transgress  the  laws  of  God, 
when  they  are  taught  that  its  penalty  is  removed  far 
beyond  theUne  that  divides  time  from  eternity? 

The  fact  is,  when  a  man  is  about  to  commit  an  act, 
he  does  not  pause  to  consider  what  will  be  the  remote 
and  possible  consequences,  some  hundreds  or  thoifeand 
years  hence ;  but  he  looks  to  the  effects  which,  to  him, 
are  present,  certain  and  tangible.  When  the  thief  is 
tempted  to  steal,  I  care  not  how  strongly  he  may  be- 
lieve in  a  day  of  future  judgement,  I  will  venture  to  say, 
that  he  thinks  more  of  the  present  benefits  of  the  prop- 
erty, than  of  a  future  heaven,  and  is  far  more  solicit- 
ous to  conceal  his  crime  and  escape  the  State's  prison, 
than  to  avoid  the  judgement.  No  man  commits  a 
crime,  under  a  full  conviction  that  he  will  be  speedily 
and  certainly  punished.  It  is  putting  far  away  the  evil 
day,  and  a  hope  of  escape,  that  encourages  men  on  in  sin. 
Most  unhappily,  the  doctrine  under  consideration  is  ex- 
actly calculated  to  foster  these  delusive  hopes.  The 
sinner  is  assured,  in  the  outset,  that  he  can  contract 
debts  to  any  amount  at  the  bar  of  justice;  and  get  cred- 
ited to  the  future  world;  and  worse  than  this,  that  he 
can  at  any  time  previous  to  death,  take  the  benefit  of 
an  insolvent  act,  under  the  name  of  repentance,  and 
cheat  justice  out  of  the  whole  debt.  Such  views  can 
never  reform  the  vicious,  nor  restrain  the  spirit  of  sin. 
M^Q  must  know,  that  the  eye  of  the  Lord  is  continually 


JUDGEMENT.  115 

Upon  them,  and  that  their  judgement  of  a  long  time  lin- 
gereth  not,  and  their  damnation  slurabereth  not,  but  in 
the  day  they  partake  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  even  in  that 
very  day,  they  shall  die,  and  that  inevitably. 

But  I  leave  this  view  of  the  doctrine,  and  pass  to  of- 
fer you  some  rea'=;on<5  which,  in  my  mind,  forbid  the  idea 
of  the  truth  of  tnis  doctrine. 

I.  It  is  like  the  doctrine  of  endless  misery,  a  useless 
doctrine. 

The  belief  of  it,  as  I  have  already  shown,  does  no 
good,  but  much  positive  injury,  and  the  thing  itself  is  as 
utterly  useless,  as  faith  in  its  existence.  What  saith  the 
Scrip'tures  upon  the  subject  of  judgement  ?  "  Verily,  he 
is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  c^rth."  "Behold,  the 
righteous  shall  be  recompensed  in  the  earth,  much  more 
the  wicked  and  the  sinner."  Now,  if  it  be  a  fact,  that 
God  judges  in  the  earth,  and  recompenses  both  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,  you  can  but  perceive  that  a 
day  of  future  judgement,  to  judge  and  recompense  them 
again,  is  utterly  useless. 

But  the  doctrine  is  not  only  useless  in  fact ;  it  is 
equally  so  when  viewed  in  reference  to  the  opinions  of 
its  advocates.  So  far  as  I  understand  the  opinions  of 
those  who  maintain  this  sentiment,  they  uniformly  agree 
that  man  has  an  immortal  soul,  which  survives  the  shock 
of  death,  and  lives  for  ever.  With  the  exception  of  the 
Catholics,  they  also  believe,  that  at  the  article  of  death, 
this  soul  sinks  to  hell  or  rises  to  heaven,  and  its  fate  is 
fixed  for  eternity,  and  it  cannot  be  altered.  Now,  if  this  be 
true,  pray  where  is  the  utility  cf  this  day  of  judgement? 

If  a  sinner  aied  in  the  days  ol  Adam,  according  to  the 
popular  doctrine  he  went  immediately  to  hell,  and  his 
case  was  fixed  for  eternity.  Now,  suppose  one  thousand 
fears  from  this  time  ♦he  judgement-day  should  arrive, 


116  JUD&EBIENT. 

and  that  man  should  be  brought  up  to  be  judged.  You 
will  at  once  perceive  that  he  will  have  been  in  hell  near 
seven  thousand  years,  before  judgement  is  pronounced 
upon  him.  But  what  good  will  a  trial  do  him  at  that 
late  hour?  Will  it  alter  his  condition  ?  By  no  means, 
for  we  are  before  informed  that  his  state  is  fixed  for  eter- 
nity. If  so,  then  this  form  of  a  trial  and  judgement  is  a 
perfect  mockery,  as  much  sj  as  it  would  be  to  disinter  a 
man  who  had  been  executed  for  murder  without  judge 
or  jury  twenty  years  since,  and  give  him  a  trial,  and  pass 
sentence  upon  him. 

In  no  way  can  I  discover  any  utility  in  the  thing,  un- 
less you  turn  Catholic,  and  believe  that  souls  are  detain- 
ed in  purgatory  until  the  judgement;  and  even  then  it 
would  not  seem  perfectly  just  to  detain  a  man,  in  some 
cases  thousands  of  years,  without  a  trial.  I  have  no  fel- 
lowship or  communion  at  all  with  a  principle  which 
would  first  hang  a  man,  and  then  judge  him  ;  and  I  hold 
the  common  doctrine  of  a  day  of  future  judgement,  when 
viewed  in  the  connexion  I  have  named,  as  a  perfect 
practice  upon  that  principle,  and  of  course  not  only  use- 
less, but  unjust  and  abominable. 

I  know  it  is  said,  that  this  judgement  is  necessary,  to 
vindicate  the  ways  of  God  to  man,  and  affords  an  oppor- 
tunity for  God  to  show  to  an  assembled  universe,  that 
he  is  a  God  of  justice.  But  to  me  this  looks  like  the 
veriest  subterfuge  to  cover  a  retreat  from  an  absurd  and 
indefensible  position.  In  this  case,  it  is  no  longer  man 
that  is  judged,  but  it  is  an  occasion  where  short-sighted 
man  sits  as  the  judge  upon  the  doings  of  God  !  Are  we 
willing  to  admit,  for  a  moment,  that  .he  ways  of  God 
are  of  so  exceedingly  doubtful  a  character  that  he  must 
needs  assemble  the  universe  in  order  to  (^indicate  him- 
self from  the  suspicion  of  having  done  injustice  to  his 


JUDGEMENT.  117 

creatures?  The  verj  thought  is  akin  tc  the  worst  of 
blasphemj',  and  the  nan  who  entertains  a  notion  thai 
he  is  one  among  the  number  of  those  to  whom  God 
will  submit  the  decision  of  the  question  of  the  equity  of 
his  ways,  has  need  of  the  caution,  that  he  beware  and 
not  "  raise  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God  on  earth." 

II.  The  second  and  greatest  objection  I  have  to  the 
doctrine,  is,  that  it  is  unscriptural. 

1  am  free  to  admit,  that  the  Scriptures  speak  not  only 
of  a  day  of  judgement,  but  of  7nany  and  different  days  of 
judgement;  and  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
speak  of  one  of  these  days  by  way  of  eminence,  as  "  the 
day  of  judgement."  But  if  you  examine  the  subject, 
you  will  find  that  all  these  days  are  in  this  world,  and 
that  it  is  men  in  the  flesh,  and  not  immortal  spirits  in 
the  resurrection,  that  are  to  be  judged.  We  hear  much 
said  about  an  awful  day  of  judgement,  connected  with 
the  resurrection,  and  coming  after  death,  and  I  doub 
not  many  suppose  the  Scriptures  abound  in  such  Ian 
guage.  But  if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the 
Bible  for  that  purpose,  if  you  have  never  observed  it  be- 
fore, you  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  diiferent  is  the 
language  of  Scripture  from  the  usual  mode  of  speaking 
upon  that  subject. 

The  fact  that  the  world  is  to  be  judged  in  the  right- 
eousness of  heaven's  justice,  is  uniformly  set  forth  by  the 
inspired  writers,  as  a.  matter  of  most  lively  joy.  Thus 
the  Psalmisi  says,  "  Oh  !  let  the  earth  rejoice,  and  let  the 
earth  be  glad,  and  shout  for  joy,  for  the  Lord  is  Judge. 
Let  the  sea  roar,  and  the  fulness  thereof;  the  world, 
and  they  that  dwell  therein.  Let  the  floods  clap  their 
hands;  let  the  hills  be  joyful  together  before  the  Lord, 
for  he  Cometh,  he  cometn  to  judge  the  earth  with  right- 
eousness, and  the  people  with  equity."  .  Very  different, 


il8  ."UDGEMENT. 

indeed,  15  this  from  the  terrors  that  are  usual  y  thrown 
around  the  judgement  of  God,  in  these  latter  days;  and 
I  can  account  for  it  in  no  other  way,  than  upon  the  sup- 
position, that  the  divine  writers  had  very  different  views 
of  the  divine  judgements  from  those  that  are  now  en- 
tertained. 

Equally  explicit  are  the  Scriptures  in  relation  to  the 
time  and  p/ace  of  judgement.  "Verily  he  is  a  God  that 
judgeth  in  the  earth;'''*  and  "his  judgements  are  abroad 
in  the  earth  ;''''  is  the  uniform  word  of  the  testimony,  and 
you  will  for  ever  search  the  Bible  in  vain,  for  proof  that 
he  judges  man  any  where  else  but  in  the  earth,  or  at 
any  period  subsequent  to  his  existence  here.  In  no  sin- 
gle instance  in  the  Bible,  is  a  judgement  spoken  of  as 
connected  with  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  nor  is  it 
mentioned  at  all,  as  a  thing  which  is  to  follow  the  death 
of  the  body.  I  have,  indeed,  heard  men  quote  Scripture 
after  this  sort.  "As  the  tree  falls,  so  it  lies;  and  as 
death  leaves  us,  so  judgement  will  find  us."  "  For  it  is 
appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die,  and  after  death,  to 
come  to  judgement."  These  passages  are  doubtless 
very  pertinent  to  the  point,  and  but  for  one  slight  cir- 
cumstance, would  unquestionably  prove  that  there  is  a 
judgement  after  the  death  of  the  body.  There  is  one 
circumstance,  however,  which,  though  it  may  be  trifling 
to  some,  is  to  me  very  important,  and  leads  me  to  doubt 
the  clearness  and  authority  of  the  proof  I  allude  to  the 
fact,  that  neither  of  these  passages,  so  often  and  so  con- 
fidently quoted,  is  in  the  Bible;  but  both  of  them  are 
manufactured  by  men,  to  support  their  creeds. 

The  first  is  probably  intended  as  a  quotation  fro-m  the 
11th  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  where  the  preacher,  in 
speaking  of  deeds  of  charity,  says,  "cast  liiy  bread  upon 
the  waters,  and  after  many  days  ye  shall  find  it.     Give 


JTJDGLMENI.  lid 

a  portion  to  se/en,  and  also  to  eight,  for  ye  know  not 
wliat  evil  there  may  be  in  the  world  :  fur  if  the  clouds 
be  full  of  rain,  they  empty  themselves  upon  the  earth, 
and  if  the  tree  fall  toward  the  north,  or  toward  the 
south,  in  the  place  where  the  tree  falleth,  there  it  shall 
be."  The  other  passage  is  an  altered  and  garbled  quo- 
tation of  a  part  of  Heb.  ix.  27,  where  the  Apostle  says, 
"And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after 
this  the  judgement,  so  Christ  was  once  offered,  to  bear 
the  sins  of  many,  and  unto  them  that  look  for  him,  shall 
he  appear  the  second  time,  without  sin,  unto  salvation." 
If  you  will  compare  the  passage,  as  written  by  the  Apos- 
tle, with  the  common  quotation,  you  will  find  it  mate- 
rially different,  and  even  our  common  translation  fails 
of  giving  the  true  meaning  of  the  original.  For  some  ^ 
reason  unknown  to  me,  our  translators  have  left  out  one  ^H 
word,  from  the  original,  and  have  not  translated  it  at  all. 
I  allude  to  the  article  before  the  word  men,  and  1  have 
no  fear  of  contradiction,  from  any  man  who  knows  even 
the  alphabet  of  the  language,  and  has  read  the  Greek 
Testament,  when  I  say,  that  a  faithful  translation  would 
be,  "And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  the  men  (or  these  men) 
once  to  die,  and  after  this  the  judgement,"  &c. 

Appointed  unto  these  men  once  to  die.  What  men? 
Look  at  the  preceding  context,  and  you  will  find  the  an- 
swer. The  Apostle  was  treating  of  the  sacrificial  death 
of  the  High  Priests  under  the  law,  as  a  type  of  the  death 
of  Christ,  and  of  the  judgement  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
Immediately  following  this  typical  death  of  the  High 
Priest,  and  in  this  passage,  he  draws  out  the  parallel 
between  the  two  cases: — As  it  was  appointed  (in  the 
Jewish  law)  unto  these  men  once  to  die,  (figuratively, 
for  the  sins  of  the  people,)  so  Christ  was  once  offered,  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many  •  and  as  the  High  Priest  came 


120  JUDGEMENT 

forth  from  the  holiest  of  holies,  after  his  typical  death, 
to  judge  the  people  and  pronounce  them  clean,  even  so, 
should  Christ  come,  not  to  condenan,  but  without  sin, 
unto  salvation.  All  this  falls  far  short  of  asserting  that 
there  is  to  be  a  great  day  of  general  judgement  subse- 
quent to  the  death  of  the  body ;  and  I  appeal  to  you,  if 
the  fact,  that  men  are  under  the  necessity  of  altering 
the  passage,  in  order  to  make  it  answer  their  purpose, 
is  not  good  proof,  that  it  does  not  answer  that  purpose, 
as  it  stands  even  in  our  translation.  When  men  can 
find  a  clear  and  explicit  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord"  for  their 
sentiments,  they  will  never  make  scripture  to  prove 
them.  Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  the  scriptures  nowhere 
mention  a  day  of  judgement,  as  connected  with  the  res- 
urrection of  the  dead,  or  as  an  event  subsequent  to 
death  ;  but  uniformly  represent  judgement  as  a  matter 
executed  in  the  earth,  I  maintain  that  the  sentiment 
which  removes  it  to  another  world,  is  most  clearly  un- 
scriptural. 

There  is  one  additional  circumstance  to  be  named, 
and  I  shall  proceed  to  give  you  what  I  suppose  to  be  the 
true  doctrine  of  judgement.  In  all  countries  it  is  deem- 
ed but  just,  that  men  should  be  tried  by  the  laws  they 
transgress,  and  in  the  same  realm,  where  the  offence  is 
committed.  Now  the  law  of  God,  was  given  to  man, 
for  the  regulation  of  his  conduct,  here  on  earth,  and  I 
iver  most  explicitly,  and  challenge  contradiction,  that 
there  is  no  law  in  the  Bible,  which  assures  man,  that 
the  transgressor  of  its  requirements  shall  be  taken  to 
another  world  lo  be  judged  for  his  transgression.  On 
the  contrary,  all  subsequent  enactments,  and  practice,  are 
in  the  spirit  of  the  first  prohibition,  "  in  the  day  that  thou 
eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Adam  was  judged 
in  the  cool  of  the  evening  of  the  very  day  he  sinaed. 


judgemt::  r.  121 

and  Cain  was  called  to  the  bar  of  judgement  while  yet 
the  blood  of  his  brother  was  red,  and  warm  upon  his. 
hands.  So  the  law  required,  and  hence  I  contend  that 
to  judge  men  in  another  world,  for  the  sins  of  this,  is 
unjust,  because  man  was  never  made  answerable  to  any- 
such  law. 

If  I  remember  aright,  one  of  the  grievances  set  forth 
in  the  declaration  of  American  independence,  was,  that 
citizens  of  the  colonies  were  taken  across  the  waters  to 
a  distant  land  to  be  tried  for  offences  committed  here. 
Now  every  American  citizen  is  ready  to  condemn  such 
a  procedure,  and  will  denounce  the  British  government 
as  unjust,  oppressive,  and  tyrannical  in  so  doing ;  and' 
yet  the  great  mass  of  them  worship  a  God  who  trans- 
ports men  to  another  world,  to  be  tried  and  judged  foi 
crimes  committed  in  this,  and  in  him  they  call  it  justice. 
I  indulge  a  hope,  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when 
men  will  discover  that  injustice  and  tyranny  though  ia 
a  God,  would  be  injustice  and  tyranny  still. 

But  I  pass  on ;  and  come  now  to  speak  of  the  true 
scripture  doctrine  of  judgement. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  doctrine  of  judge- 
ment as  set  forth  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  as  found  in 
the  Gospel,  are  widely  different ;  not  indeed  in  princi 
pie,  but  in  the  mode  of  administration.  In  the  Old 
Testament  "God  is  the  judge, lawgiver  and  king;"  and 
in  that  dispensation  he  was  the  being  who  sat  in  the 
judgement  seat.  But  in  the  New  Testament,  we  learn 
that  "  the  Father  judgeth  nc  man,  but  hath  committed 
all  judgement  to  the  Son."  Henceforth  then  we  are  to 
look  upon  Jesus  Christ  as  the  divinely  appointed  judge 
of  all,  and  the  question  before  us  relates  to  the  time  and 
the  manner  of  his  judgement. 

The  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  would  lead  uf 
11 


122  JUDGEMENT. 

to  expect,  that  although  the  work  of  judgemeui  has 
been  given  to  the  hands  of  the  Son  of  God,  yet  it  was 
to  be  executed,  as  it  ever  had  been,  in  the  earth.  Thus 
Isaiah  says,  "  Behold  the  days  come  saith  the  Lord,  that 
I  will  raise  a  righteous  branch  unto  David,  and  a  king 
shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  shall  execute  judgement 
and  justice,  in  the  earth,  and  his  name  shall  be  called 
"  the  Lord  our  righteousness."  In  conformity  with 
this,  when  he  came,  he  announced  himself  as  the  judge 
of  men,  and  there  are  two  senses  in  Avhich  he  may  be 
said  to  be  the  judge. 

In  the  first  place,  he  came  to  execute  upon  the  Jew- 
ish nation,  those  severe  and  extraordinary  judgements, 
which  had  long  since  been  threatened  against  them, 
and  which  were  at  that  time  near  at  hand.  The  proph- 
ets had  warned  the  people,  that  the  day  was  coming 
when  Jerusalem  should  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  they  should  be  scattered  a  proverb  and  a  by- 
word among  all  people,  and  the  Saviour  himself,  had 
informed  them,  that  upon  them,  should  come  all  luc 
righteous  blood,  that  had  been  shed  upon  the  earth, 
"  from  the  blood  of  Abel  to  the  blood  of  Zecharias,  son 
of  Barachias,  whom  they  slew  between  the  temple  and 
the  altar."  He  told  them,  when  looking  at  the  glory  of 
the  temple,  that  the  day  was  coming  when  there  should 
Qot  be  left  one  stone  upon  another  that  should  not  be 
thrown  down,  and  that  there  should  be  a  time  of 
'trouble,  such  as  had  not  been  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  that  same  time,  no,  nor  ever  should  be,  and 
that  this  day  of  sorrow  should  come  upon  them,  as  a 
thief  in  the  night.  "  Then  should  all  the  tribes  of  the 
earth  mourn,  and  they  should  see  the  Son  of  Man  com- 
ing in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with  power  and  great  glo- 
ry, and  ht  shou  d  send  his  angels  to  gather  together  his 


JUDGEMENT.  123 

elect  from  the  four  winds  of  heaven,"  and  fhey  should 
dwell  safely.  He  informed  them  moreover  that  though 
he  knew  not  the  day  nor  the  hour^  in  which  that  judge- 
ment should  come,  yet  he  could  inform  them,  that  that 
^'^  genera  I  ion  should  not  pass  away  till  all  these  things 
should  be  fulfilled."  Now  Jesus  was  the  executor  of 
these  judgements,  and  in  this  sense  he  was  the  judge 
of  Israel.  And  as  the  day  of  this  desolation  was  the 
day  of  the  most  severe  judgement  that  ever  befel  Israel, 
or  any  other  nation,  therefore,  it  is  called  by  way  of  em- 
inence, above  all  other  days  of  tribulation,  "  The  Day 
of  Judgement^  To  this  day,  most  of  those  passages 
allude,  which  speak  of  the  day  of  judgement.  To  this 
he  alludes  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew, 
where  the  nations  are  represented  as  being  gathered 
before  him,  and  separated  from  one  another,  as  a  shep- 
herd divideth  his  sheep  from  tlie  goats,  the  Gentiles  en- 
tering into  that  knowledge  of  God  which  is  declared  to 
be  "  life  eternal,"  and  the  Jews  going  away  into  a  state 
of  perpetual  chastisement,  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 
should  be  come  in,  and  then  all  Israel  should  be  saved. 
But  there  is  another,  and  a  wider  sense,  in  which  he 
was  judge.  He  came  to  establish  a  system  of  religion 
for  the  world,  a  kingdom  which  though  purely  spiritual 
in  its  nature,  should  embrace  as  its  legitimate  subjects, 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth.  In  that  kingdom,  his  laws 
were  to  be  the  rule  of  action,  and  his  precepts  the  cri- 
terion by  which  the  actions  of  men  were  to  be  judged. 
This  kingdom  was  to  endure  through  all  subsequent 
time,  and  by  its  laws  all  men  were  to  be  tried  and  con- 
demned and  justified.  In  this  sense  he  is  the  judge  of  all, 
and  the  day  of  the  duration  of  that  kingdom,  is  the  day 
of  judgement.  In  this  sense,  we  all  stapd  before  the 
judgement-seat  of  Christ,  and  give  au  account  to  him 
of  every  thought,  word,  and  deed. 


124: 


JUDGEMENT. 


Do  you  ask  for  proof  of  this  ?  I  point  you  to  the 
words  of  mv  text: — "For  the  son  of  man  shall  come  in 
the  glory  of  nis  Father,  with  his  angels,  and  then  he 
shall  reward  every  man  according  to  his  works.  Veri- 
ly I  say  unto  you,  th^^re  be  some  standing  here  which 
shall  not  taste  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  com- 
ing in  his  kingdom."  The  hearer  will  perceive,  that 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  "  in  his  kingdom,"  in  the 
last  part  of  the  text,  is  used  as  synonymous  with  his 
coming  "  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  to  reward  every 
man  according  to  his  works,"  in  the  first,  and  they  most 
indubitably  refer  to  one  and  the  same  time. 

If  we  inquire  when  that  time  should  be,  the  text  is  clear 
and  explicit  upon  that  point : — "  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
there  be  some  standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  death, 
till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  his  kingdom." 
There  are  numerous  other  passages,  which  might  be 
quoted  to  the  same  effect,  but  for  this,  I  have  no  time  at 
present,  and  I  dee-m  this  one  fully  sufficient  to  establish 
the  point  in  hand.  Men  may  talk  as  they  will,  about  a 
future  coming  of  Christ  to  judge  the  world  and  reward 
men  according  to  their  works.  If  there  is  any  confi- 
dence to  be  placed  in  his  own  words,  then  it  is  settled 
that  his  coming  to  judgement,  and  to  reward  every  man 
according  to  his  works,  was  the  very  time  when  he 
came  to  establish  his  kingdom,  and  we  have  his  explicit 
and  positive  assurance,  that  there  were  men  living 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  who  should  not  taste  death 
till  that  event  should  occur. 

I  shall  leave  those  who  put  far  away  this  evil  day,  to 
settle  that  controversy  as  best  they  can,  with  the  words 
of  him  who  spake  as  never  man  spake,  and  said, "  Be- 
hold noic  is  fhe  judgment  of  this  world;  now  is  the 
prince  of  thi:j  world  cast  out. 


TELE   RESURRECTION.  ]25 


SERMON    IX. 
THE    RESURRECTION. 

•*For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 

I  Corinthians  xv.  21. 

The  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  the  crowning  excel- 
lency of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  so  far  as  its  doctrinal 
teachings  are  concerned.  The  views  it  gives  of  the 
pharacier  and  government  of  God,  are  valuable,  and 
worthy  of  being  cherished  in  every  heart ;  but  most 
precious  of  all  its  holy  and  peace-giving  truths,  is  that 
which  paints  to  another  and  a  better  world  beyond  the 
dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  assures  us  that 
there  we  shall  live  in  the  freshness  of  immortal  youth 
while  eternity  endures. 

So  far  as  this  doctrine  in  itself  is  concerned,  I  shall  ot 
course  have  no  controversy  in  these  lectures.  In  a  work* 
already  before  the  public,  I  have  argued  that  point  at 
length  against  the  skeptic,  and  given  my  reasons  for  be- 
lieving that  man  shall  rise  from  the  dead.  Those  rea 
sons  it  is  not  now  necessary  to  repeat,  as  I  am  not  now 
arguing  with  the  infidel.  The  resurrection  from  the 
dead  is  a  doctrine  in  the  belief  of  which  nearly  all 
christians  agree,  and  I  therefore  take  it  for  granted  in 
this  discussion,  without  pausing  upon  its  evidences.  But 
the  object  of  the  resurrection  and  the  state  and  condi- 
tion of  those  who  shall   be  raised  are  subjects  upon 

•'■  An  Argument  for  the  Truth  of  Chrisiiaiihy.' 


126  THE   RESURRECTION. 

which  there  is  a  wide  diflTerence  of  opinion  between  us 
and  the  great  mass  of  the  christian  world.  Upon  these 
points  I  must  therefore,  dwell  at  length. 

I  suppose  no  man  would  feel  disposed  to  contend,  that 
God  will  raise  man  from  the  dead  without  any  design 
in  so  doing.  It  is  contrary  to  all  our  ideas  of  God,  as 
an  intelligent  being,  to  suppose  that  he  would  raise  man 
up  from  the  dead  for  no  purpose. 

I  suppose  it  will  be  admitted  further,  that  the  slate  or 
condition  of  man  in  the  resurrection  must  be  dependent 
entirely  upon  the  will  of  God.  Man  was  born  to  die, 
and  I  will,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  suppose  that  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  dead.  Of  all  that  now 
live  and  breathe,  there  is  not  a  living  soul  left.  They  have 
all  bowed  before  the  destroyer,  and  their  bodies  hav$ 
returned  to  the  dust  as  they  were. 

Go  now  and  gaze  upon  that  great  valley  of  dry  bones, 
and  ask  yourself,  if  man  can  do  any  thing  toward  mak- 
ing them  live  ?  You  see  at  once,  that  he  has  no  power 
to  make  one  hair  black  or  white.  Neither  is  God  under 
any  obligations  to  breathe  into  them  the  breath  of  life. 
All  ranks  and  conditions  of  men  are  there,  and  the  king 
and  the  beggar  are  alike  in  this  respect.  They  have  all 
been  unprofitable  servants,  and  not  one  among  them  has 
done  aught  that  can  give  him  a  claim  upon  a  resurrec- 
tion. God  might  let  them  all  sleep  on,  and  sleep  on 
for  ever,  and  his  throne  would  be  free  from  the  charge 
of  having  done  injustice  to  a  single  soul.  It  is  clear, 
therefore,  that  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  must  de- 
pend upon  the  free  grace  or  favour  of  God ;  and  if  any 
man  is  ever  raised  from  the  dead  it  will  be  because  God 
in  his  goodness,  saw  tit  to  raise  him. 

If,  therefore,  we  are  dependent  upon  God's  free  grace 
for  \h«  resurrection  from  the  dead,  then  of  course,  we 


THE   RESiniKECTION.  127 

are  dependent  upon  him  for  the  state  and  condition  in 
which  we  are  to  be  raised.  If  we  have  done  nothing 
to  merit  a  resurrection  at  all,  much  less  can  Ave  claim 
any  thing  at  the  hands  of  God,  in  regard  to  the  circum- 
stances of  that  resurrection  which  he  gives  us. 

This  then  is  the  sum  of  the  matter:— When  a  man 
dies,  no  matter  who  he  mav  be,  it  is  for  God  to  say, 
whether  he  sha.l  live  again  and  having  decided,  that 
he  will  raise  him  from  the  dead,  it  is  for  God,  and  God 
alone,  to  say  what  shall  be  his  condition ;  and  man  has 
injustice,  no  right  to  a  voice  in  that  matter  at  all. 

It  is  reasonable,  however,  as  before  hinted,  to  suppose 
that  God  would  have  some  object  in  view,  in  raising 
man  from  the  dead ;  and  that  object,  whether  good  or 
bad,  must  depend  entirely  upon  the  nature  of  God.  If 
he  is  a  cruel  being,  delighting  in  misery,  why  then  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  would  raise  man  from  the 
dead  on  purpose  to  torment  him. 

But  if  he  is,  what  scripture  and  nature  declare  him  to 
be,  good,  supremely  and  invariably  good,  then  of  course 
he  can  have  no  had  object  in  the  resurrection.  Such  a 
being  looking  upon  man  sleeping  quietly  in  the  grave, 
would  not  be  likely  to  disturb  that  sleep,  unless  some 
good  was  to  be  effected  by  it,  for  if  he  could  not  do  man 
any  further  good  he  would  be  sure  and  not  do  him  any 
harm.  I  come  now  to  the  direct  inquiry  into  the  state 
of  man  in  the  resurrection,  as  dependent  entirely  upon 
the  will  of  God.  There  is  one,  and  but  one  out  of  three 
possible  answers  to  this  query,  that  can  be  true. 

First,  God  intends  to  raise  all  men  from  the  dead,  and 
make  them  miserable,  or 

Secondly,  He  intends  to  make  a  part  miserable,  and«a 
part  haf  py,  or 

Thirdly,  He  intends  to  make  them  all  happy. 


128  THE   RESURRECTION. 

Now  one  of  these  three  propositions  must  be  true,  for 
besides  these  there  is  no  other  possible  answer;  and  it 
is  equally  certain,  that  but  one  of  them  can  be  true,  for 
if  either  one  is  true,  the  others  are  false ;  and  if  two 
are  proved  false,  the  other  must  be  true.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, with  all  candor  and  soberness  examine  and  see 
which  of  these  is  true. 

I.  God  intends  to  raise  all  men  from  the  dead,  and  his 
object  in  so  doing,  is  to  render  them  all  hopelessly  and 
intolerably  miserable. 

Is  there  any  need  of  my  saying  one  word  more  than 
barely  to  state  the  proposition,  in  order  to  bring  out  from 
this  congregation  an  unanimous  expression  of  dissent 
from  its  truth  ?  I  am  persuaded,  that  it  is  not,  for  there 
is  no  man  among  you,  who  would  not  agree  with  me  in 
saying,  that  the  admission  of  such  a  doctrine  would  rob 
God  of  every  attribute  that  makes  his  character  lovely, 
and  transform  him  into  a  cruel  and  malicious  fiend. 
What !  God  put  forth  the  energies  of  his  power,  breathe 
upon  the  dry  bones,  and  raise  a  world  from  the  sleep  of 
death,  and  confer  upon  them  immortality  for  no  other 
reason,  than  that  he  may  torment  them  and  make  them 
all  as  miserable  as  their  natures  can  endure !  Away 
with  the  impious  thought !  It  is  a  graceless  libel  upon 
the  character  of  the  God  of  all.  To  say  nothing  of 
scripture,  all  nature  around  us  rises  up  and  contradicts  a 
sentiment  so  utterly  at  war  with  every  just  idea  of  a 
benevolent  and  good  creator  and  governor. 

There  is  much  on  earth  calculated  to  render  the  so- 
journ of  man  here,  not  only  comfortable,  but  positively 
happy.  Much  as  is  said  about  the  miseries  of  the  world, 
yet,  if  any  man  will  examine  his  own  system,  and  its  nice 
adaptation  to  the  circumstances  that  sur  *ound  it,  he  will 
find  evidence  abundant  and  clear,  that  he  was  fashioned 


THE    RESURRECTION.  129 

oy  the  hand  of  a  good  being,  who  took  great  care  so  to 
make  him  that  he  might  be  happy.  The  light  of  the 
sun,  the  air  that  we  breathe,  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  the 
changes  of  the  seasons,  the  silence  of  the  night,  the  dews 
of  heaven,  and  the  waters  that  gush  from  the  fountain  are 
all  precisely  such  as  are  calculated  to  minister  to  our  com- 
fort, and  I  might  safely  defy  any  man  to  lay  his  finger 
upon  one  of  these  arrangements  of  nature,  which  his 
wisdom  could  so  alter  as  on  the  whole,  to  be  a  benefit 
to  himself 

Now  if  God  had  made  the  earth  in  such  a  manner, 
as  to  render  man  necessarily  and  unavoidably  miserable; 
if  he  had  placed  us  on  a  barren  rock,  thirsting  for  water 
and  given  us  none;  or  hungering  for  food,  which  the 
earth  would  not  yield;  if  he  had  made  our  senses  con- 
ducive to  pain  alone,  our  necessary  food  bitter,  and  wate 
loathsome,  and  kept  us  all  our  life  long  in  utter  misery, 
why  then  we  might  have  concluded  that  he  was  a  ma- 
lignant being,  and  having  brought  us  into  this  world 
only  to  torment  us,  it  was  probable  that  he  would  raise 
us  from  the  dead  for  a  similar  purpose.  But  when  we 
look  around  us  and  behold  how  completely  the  reverse 
of  this  is  the  fact ;  when  we  see  all  nature  pouring  her 
treasures  at  our  feet  and  inviting  us  to  partake  and  be 
happy ;  then  we  feel  that  God  is  good,  and  the  truth  is 
forced  irresistibly  upon  our  minds,  that  the  same  God 
who  has  given  us  one  life  for  a  good  object,  will  never 
give  us  another  for  a  bad  purpose.  But  I  need  not  dwell 
here,  for  I  presume  there  is  no  man  in  his  senses  who 
will  contend  that  God  intends  to  raise  all  men  from  the 
dead  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  them  the  subjects  of 
perpetual  and  hopeless  misery.     I  therefore  pass  on. 

II.  God  intends  to  raise  all  men  from  the  dead,  for  the 
purpose  of  rendering  a  part  miserable  and  a  /irt  happy. 


130  THE  RESURRECTION. 

This  position  does  not  bear  upon  its  face  the  g/aring 
and  palpable  absurdity  of  the  other,  and  yet,  I  appre- 
hend that  an  examination  of  the  matter  will  show  you, 
that  it  is  scarcely  less  opposed  to  reason  and  Scripture. 
There  is  something  a  little  remarkable  in  the  manner  in 
whi'^h  men  look  upon  this  subject.  When  I  say  that 
God  will  raise  all  men  up  and  make  them  miserable, 
you  start  at  it  as  a  monstrous  thing.  You  say  it  is  an 
insult  to  the  majesty  of  heaven,  and  that  it  charges  God 
with  the  worst  of  cruelty.  But  when  I  say  that  he  will 
raise  them  from  the  dead  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
part  miserable  and  a  part  happy,  you  call  it  a  good  doc- 
trine, just  as  if  the  number  of  the  miserable  could  affect 
the  principle  on  which  they  are  made  so.  The  truth  is, 
cruelty  is  cruelty,  find  it  where  you  will,  and  whether  it 
is  exercised  upon  one  or  ten  thousand,  is  of  no  manner 
of  consequence,  so  far  as  the  thing  itself  is  concerned. 

If  a  man  has  seven  children,  and  burns  them  all  alive 
m  a  furnace,  you  would  call  him  a  cruel  wretch.  But 
suppose  he  burned  only  four  out  of  the  seven,  what  would 
you  call  him  then  ?  You  ought  to  call  him  a  very  good 
man,  if  you  abide  by  the  principle  you  adopt  in  religious 
matters.  But  no;  you  say,  in  this  case,  though  he  de- 
stroyed but  four  instead  of  seven  children,  he  is  not  the 
less  detestable  on  that  account.  So  here,  if  it  were  cruel 
in  God  to  raise  all  men  up  from  the  dead  on  purpose  to 
torment  them,  then  is  it  equally  cruel  to  do  so  in  the 
case  of  one  single  individual. 

I  must  be  allowed  to  i^'ustraiv:  this  matter  a  little  fur- 
ther, for  it  is  a  subject  up.  n  'vhich  men  are  slow  of  hear- 
ing. There  are  on  earth  I  suppose,  about  eight  hun- 
dred millions  of  human  beings.  Of  these  only  about 
two  hundred  millions  are  nominally  Christians.  That 
is,  they  live  in  Christian  countries,  and  profess  to  believe 


THE   RESURRECIION.  131 

in  the  Chrislian  reMgion.  One  half  of  these,  at  least, 
are  destitute  of  what  men  call  a  saving  faith.  They  be- 
long to  the  class  called  "  world's  people."  Now,  adopt- 
ing the  popular  doctrine,  that  without  faith  and  repent- 
ance no  man  can  be  saved,  it  will  follow,  that  there 
are  only  about  ane  hundred  millions  of  the  present  gen- 
eration to  be  saved,  Avhile  at  least  seven  hundred  mil- 
lions must  sink  in  an  endless  hell !  Now,  you  come  to 
me  and  ask  me  what  I  think  God  intends  to  do  with  the 
present  generation  of  the  world,  consisthig,  as  it  does,  of 
about  eight  hundred  millions  of  human  beings?  I  an- 
swer, I  believe  he  intends  to  raise  them  all  up  from  the 
dead.  So  you  also  believe.  But  you  ask  again,  what 
do  you  think  he  intends  to  raise  them  up  from  the  dead 
for  ?  What  will  he  do  with  them  after  the  resurrection? 
I  answer,  I  suppose  he  intends  to  give  them  all  over  to 
the  devil,  and  let  him  ^orment  them  in  fire  and  brim- 
stone, through  eternii  .  Oh  !  you  say,  that  cannot  be 
so.  But  why  can  it  not  be  so  ?  Because  God  is  good, 
and  he  would  rather  let  them  all  sleep  for  ever  in  the 
grave,  than  raise  them  up  for  such  a  purpose.  It  makes 
God  the  most  cruel  of  all  beings,  and  it  cannot  be  true. 
Well,  I  reply,  I  am  not  sure  that  he  intends  to  torment 
them  all.  I  suppose  he  will  make  a  part  happy,  and 
torment  the  remainder.  With  this  you  are  satisfied, 
and  can  see  no  impeachment  of  the  divine  goodness  in 
such  a  sentiment.  But  how  so  ?  AVhy,  just  because 
you  have  found  out,  that  instead  of  tormenting  eight 
hundred  million  souls,  he  only  intends  to  burn  seven 
hundred  millions ;  the  former  would  be  very  cruel,  but 
the  latter  is  a  very  small  affair,  of  no  consequence  one 
way  or  the  other.  God  may  be  very  good  for  all  that. 
Why,  my  dear  sir,  what  is  the  difference  whether  there 
are  sev^a  or  eight  hundred  millions  to  be  tormented  ?   It 


132  THE  RESURRECTION- 

is  the  principle  of  the  thing,  that  I  am  talking  al>out» 
and  it  was  this  that  you  contended  for  but  a  moment 
since;  and  how  is  it  that  you  have  made  the  wonderful 
discovery,  that  a  course  of  action  you  yourself  condemn 
as  cruel,  when  applied  to  all,  is  merciful  when  applied 
to  a  part.  I  call  on  you  to  look  at  the  myriads  who 
you  believe  are  to  be  damned,  and  tell  me,  if  you  are 
able,  what  good  object  there  could  be  in  raising  them 
from  the  dead  ?  I  ask  you  to  go  down  by  the  gulf  of 
endless  ruin  in  which  you  believe,  and  as  you  gaze  upon 
the  writhings  and  contortions  of  the  countless  millions 
whose  fate  is  there  fixed  for  eternity,  tell  me  if  it  would 
not  have  been  better  to  let  them  sleep  in  the  grave,  than 
to  raise  them  up  for  such  a  purpose  ?  This  striving  tc 
evade  the  difficulty,  by  reducing  the  number  of  the  suf- 
ferers, is  of  no  avail.  If  it  is  cruel  to  raise  one  thousand 
souls  up  for  the  purpose  of  tormenting  them,  every  prin- 
ciple of  reason  declares,  that  it  is  equally  cruel  to  do  the 
same  to  a  single  individual.  I  tell  you,  what  you  al- 
ready know,  that  if  a  good  being  can  do  a  man  no  good, 
he  will  at  least  do  him  no  harm ;  and  when  God  sees  a 
world  sleeping  quietly  in  the  arms  of  death,  if  a  resur- 
rection can  do  them  no  good,  he  would  let  them  sleep 
on,  in  preference  to  raising  them  up  for  ceaseless  wo. 
To  raise  man  from  the  dead,  for  no  other  purpose  but  to 
torment  him,  would  be  an  act  of  wanton  cruelty ;  and 
whether  the  whole  world  or  a  part  are  to  be  thus  rais- 
ed, is  of  no  consequence;  for  in  either  case,  it  is  an  act 
of  unpitying  malice,  worthy  only  of  a  fiend  of  darkness, 
and  as  such,  you  may  for  ever  rest  assured  that  it  cannot 
he  done  by  a  God  of  infinite  goodness. 

But  let  me  ask,  what  is  there  in  all  the  works  of  cre- 
ation, or  the  providence  of  God,  which  could  lead  us  to 
suppose  that  he  intends  to  raise  some  men  up  for  end* 


THE   RESURRECTION.  133 

fess  bliss,  and  others  for  immortal  pain  t  If  I  should  see 
the  sun  shining  upon  some  men,  and  refusing  his  rays  to 
others;  or  the  showers  of  rain  coming  down  upon  some 
and  passing  by  others;  or  if  I  should  find  the  earth 
yielding  the  fruits  and  flowers  to  some  and  refusing  her 
increase  to  others;  why,  then  I  might  conclude  that 
God  had  some  favourites  to  bless,  and  that  being  partial 
in  this  world,  he  might  be  so  in  the  next.  But  so  long 
as  I  can  look  out  upon  the  works  of  God,  where  his 
footsteps  are  clearly  impressed,  and  see  the  sun  rising 
upon  the  evil  and  the  good,  and  the  rain  falling  upon 
the  just  and  the  unjust,  and  the  earih  yielding  her  fruits 
with  unsparing  impartiality,  to  reward  the  labours  of  all, 
I  must  remain  of  my  present  opinion,  that  (^od  is  good 
unto  all,  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works, 
and  that  being  impartial  here,  he  will  be  equally  so  in 
another  world. 

But  Ave  may  go  even  further  than  this.  It  is  a  fact, 
which  can  neither  be  disguised  nor  disputed,  that  the 
circumstances  which  surround  man  in  the  present  ex- 
istence, are  such  that  the  amount  of  happiness  he  en- 
joys is  far  greater  than  the  misery  he  suifers.  I  know 
that  much  complaint  is  made  of  the  miseries  of  the 
world,  and  we  hear  much  of  the  sufferings  of  man.  But 
I  am  satisfied  that  our  joys  are  underrated  in  the  esti- 
mate of  those  who  complain,  and  the  evils  of  life  magni- 
fied far  beyond  what  they  are  in  reality.  Unnumbered 
sources  of  enjoyment  are  opened,  and  innumerable  mer- 
cies throng  around  us,  in  every  avenue  of  life.  The 
causes  that  conspire  to  make  us  happy,  are  more  nu- 
merous than  the  hairs  of  our  heads,  and  rivers  of  plea- 
sure flow  down  the  earth,  while  our  miseries  are  "few 
and  far  between."  In  all  the  diversified  fornos  of  human 
life,  the  great  Creator  has  so  ordered,  that  the  joy  shall 
12 


134  THE   RESURRECTION. 

triumph  over  the  pain.  You  may  go  the  wide  earth 
over,  and  you  will  lind  happiness  in  every  nation,  tribe, 
tongue,  grade  and  condition  of  humanity.  You  may 
walk  the  streets  of  the  thronged  city,  where  man 
dwells  in  the  blessedness  of  civilization ;  or  you  may 
roam  the  desolate  wilds  of  the  wilderness,  where  the 
swarthy  savage  seeks  his  food  with  his  quiver  and  his 
bow ;  you  may  wander  over  the  bleak  mountains  of 
Lapland,  whose  pale  children  shiver  in  the  midst  of 
storms,  and  frosts,  and  snows,  or  traverse  the  sands  of 
Ethiopia,  where  the  sable  African  melts  beneath  the 
rays  of  a  vertical  sun,  and  you  will  find  happiness 
among  them  all.  I  pledge  you  my  truth,  that  for  every 
tear  of  anguish  that  meets  your  eye,  you  shall  see  a  thou- 
sand smiles  of  joy,  and  for  every  sigh  of  sorrow  that 
greets  your  ear,  you  shall  hear  ten  thousand  joyous 
notes  of  happiness. 

Talk  as  you  will  of  the  sorrows  of  this  miserable 
world;  sorrows  there  may  be,  but  it  is  a  good  world  and 
a  happy  one  after  all,  and  all  our  observation  and  expe- 
rience bears  testimony,  that  though  weeping  may  en- 
dure for  a  night,  joy  cometh  in  the  mornmg.  Now,  I 
ask,  what  meaneth  this?  What  meaneth  this  rolling 
river  of  peace,  which  pours  its  wondrous  ilood  over  all 
that  live,  and  move,  and  breathe  the  viial  air  ?  What 
mean  these  untold  and  unsearchable  treasures  of  love 
and  mercy  ?  I  answer.  They  mean  that  God  is  good, 
and  declare  in  a  voice  that  cannot  be  misunderstood, 
that  when  God  calls  beings  into  existence,  it  is  that  he 
may  bless  them  and  make  them  happy.  They  lay 
open  a  rule  of  the  divine  government,  as  immutable  as 
God  himself,  by  which  he  has  hitherto  walked  with 
undeviating  steps  in  all  time  that  has  past.  The  rule 
is,  that  whenever  God  puts  forth  the  energies  of  his 


THE    RESURRECTION.  135 

power,  and  gives  life  to  any  being,  he  confers  a  blessing 
and  not  a  curse. 

Six  thousand  years  has  the  earth  rolled  upon  its  axis, 
and  generation  has  trod  close  upon  the  heel  of  genera- 
tion, and  more  beings  have  been  brought  into  existence, 
than  there  are  stars  in  the  firmament  or  sands  upon 
the  shore  of  the  sea.  Go,  doubting  mortal,  and  bring 
them  all  up  before  you ;  assemble  in  one  vast  congrega- 
tion, the  myriads  of  those  that  have  lived ;  and  I  chal- 
lenge you  to  show  me  one  to  whom  life  has  not,  on  the 
whole,  been  a  blessing.  God  has  been  good  to  them 
all,  and  of  every  one,  it  may  be  said,  when  his  head 
was  laid  in  the  grave,  greater  was  the  amount  of  his 
enjoyments  than  his  sufferings.  By  what  rule,  tlien,  I 
demand,  do  you  arrive  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  same 
God,  who  has  never  yet  called  a  being  into  existence, 
but  to  bless  him,  will,  in  the  future,  bestow  another  ex- 
istence upon  millions,  only  that  he  may  curse  them  ? 
Where,  in  the  history  of  six  thousand  years,  do  you  find 
your  precedent  ?  Where  the  fact  that  will  warrant  such 
a  conclusion  ? 

You  may  search  the  record  of  ages,  and  it  is 
dumb;  you  may  call  upon  the  dead,  and  if  they  could 
answer,  there  would  come  up  a  voice  from  the  sepulchres 
of  the  past,  saying,  that  their  tenants  had  all  been  bles- 
sed of  God,  and  v/arning  you  against  that  black  ingrat- 
itude, and  high  absurdity,  which  would  subvert  the 
principles  which  have  marked  the  government  of  God, 
from  creation's  morning,  and  make  him  do  that,  which 
he  has  never  done,  and  which  he  never  can  do,  without 
belieing  himself. 

You  may  call  upon  the  living,  and  they  will  rise  up 
against  you,  and  tell  you,  that  God  has  blessed  them; 
and  their  very  love  of  life  will  tell  vou,  that  they  deem 


136  THE   RESURRECTION. 

it  a  blessing,  and  reproach  you  with  hard  and  ungra- 
cious views  of  God,  when  you  believe  that  he  is  but 
fattening  them  as  beasts  for  the  slaughter,  and  intends 
to  give  you  another  life  that  shall  prove  an  endless,  bit- 
ter curs<=!.  T!ius  reason  teaches  upon  the  point  in  hand, 
and  her  voice  is  echoed  by  the  scriptures  of  divine 
truth. 

It  is  a  rennarkable  fact,  that  whenever  any  of  the  di- 
vine writers  speak  of  tho  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
they  mention  it  as  a  matrer  of  most  lively  joy  to  all; 
nor  do  any  of  them  intimate,  that  in  the  resurrection 
men  are  to  be  divided,  and  some  raised  up  for  one  pur- 
pose, and  some  for  another.  Paul  says  :  "  I  have  hope 
toward  God  which  they  themselves  also  allow,  that 
there  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  both  of  the  just 
and  the  unjust."  Now  please  to  observe,  that  the  resur- 
rection even  of  the  unjust,  was,  with  the  apostle,  an  ob- 
ject of  hope.  If  he  had  believed  that  the  unjust  were 
to  be  raised  up  to  be  tormented,  he  would  not  have 
said  that  he  hoped  for  it.  He  might  indeed  have  said, 
as  men  now  often  say,  he  was  afraid  that  it  would  be 
so;  but,  as  a  feeling  man,  he  could  not  have  hoped  for 
it.  So  with  all  the  divine  writers;  they  set  forth  the 
resurrection  as  a  matter  of  lively  hope,  and  whenever 
they  mention  it  they  break  out  in  expressions  of  extatic 
joy.  This  single  circumstance  is  sufficient  of  itself  to 
prove  that  they  regarded  the  resurrection  state  as  a  bles- 
sing; for  had  they  looked  upon  it  as  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing a  greater  part  of  the  human  family  into  a  life, 
worse  by  far  than  non-existence,  they  would  have 
mourned  over  it,  as  a  calamity,  rather  than  rejoiced  at 
it  as  the  richest  and  most  valuable  of  blessings.  But  1 
have  not  f!me  to  dwell  longer  on  this  point. 

III.  Our  bird  proposition  is,  that  God  intends  to  raise 


THE   RESUKr»ECTION.  J  37 

all  men  up  from  the  dead  for  the  purpase  of  miking 
them  holy  and  happy. 

If  I  have  shown  that  the  other  propositions  are  un- 
true, then  it  follows  that  this,  the  only  one  that  remains, 
must  be  true.  That  it  harmonizes  with  the  voice  of 
nature,  the  character  of  God,  and  the  experience  of  a 
world,  no  man  can  doubt  after  a  moment's  reflection 
upon  the  subject.  Nature  teaches  the  impartial  good- 
ness of  God,  reason  ascribes  to  him  every  possibly  great 
and  glorious  attribute  and  perfection,  that  can  command 
our  love  or  invite  our  praise,  and  there  is  no  man  living 
who  has  not  experienced  enough  to  satisfy  a  reasonable 
being  that  God  is  his  friend ;  and  from  all  these  sources 
the  presumption,  a  priori,  is  strong,  yea,  incontestible, 
that  if  God  raises  all  men  from  the  dead  at  all,  it  will 
be  for  the  purpose  of  doing  them  good — not  evil. 

But  the  scriptures  are  most  clear  and  explicit  upon 
this  point.  It  is  true,  that  there  is  not  much  said  in  the 
Bible  about  the  precise  state  or  condition  of  man,  in  the 
resurrection,  for  the  controversy  between  Christians  and 
their  opposers,  in  those  days,  was  rather  upon  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  the  resurrection  itself,  than  upon  any  cir- 
cumstances that  might  attend  it.  With  them,  death 
was  the  last  enemy,  and  if  they  proved  that  God  would 
destroy  death,  it  does  not  seem  to  have  entered  their 
minds  that  they  would  also  be  required  to  prove  that 
there  would  not  remain  other  and  far  mor  «  dreadful  en- 
emies. Hence  they  argued  that  man  should  rise  from 
the  dead,  and  preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  and 
having  established  that  truth,  they  seem  to  have  taken 
it  for  granted  that  the  future  life,  conferred  as  it  was  by 
a  merciful  God,  would  be  one  of  blessedness  and  joy. 
Nor  does  it  seem  that  they  thought  it  necessary  to  go 
into  an  argument  to  prove  that  God  intended  the  future 
12-* 


138  THE   RESURRECTION. 

State  as  a  most  valuable  blessing  to  those  who  should 
receive  k. 

Take  an  illustration.  In  the  15th  chapter  of  his  1st 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  apostle  gives  a  more 
particular  account  of  the  state  of  man  in  the  resurrec- 
tion, than  can  be  found  in  any  other  part  of  the  Bible; 
and  yet  this  is  introduced  as  an  incidental  circumstance, 
rather  than  a  legitimate  part  of  his  argument.  He  ar- 
gues the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  with  great  power 
against  those  who  denied  it,  and  proves,  from  principles 
admitted  by  his  opponents,  the  truth  of  the  doctrine, 
which  he  sums  up  in  the  words  of  our  text : — "  For  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
He  continues  by  informing  his  hearers  that  Christ,  hav- 
ing subdued  all  things  unto  himself,  and  destroyed 
death,  the  last  enemy,  should  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to 
God,  even  the  Father,  and  God  should  be  "  all  in  all." 
But  he  adds,  some  man  will  say,  "  How  are  the  dead 
raised  up,  and  with  what  bodies  do  they  come  forth  ?" 
Mark  his  answer.  "  Thou  fool."  As  much  as  to  say, 
that  every  man  ought  to  understand  that  matter,  and 
none  but  an  ignorant  man  would  ask  such  a  question. 
He  goes  on,  however,  to  answer  it.  He  says  there  are 
celestial  bodies  and  terrestrial  bodies,  natural  bodies 
and  spiritual  bodies,  differing  in  glory,  and  intimates 
that  they  ought  to  know  that  man,  when  raised  from 
the  dead,  would  be  spiritual.  "As  is  the  earthy  so 
are  they  that  are  earthy,  and  as  is  the  heavenly 
so  are  they  that  are  heavenly."  And  thus  he  con- 
cludes :— "  It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incor- 
ruption ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory ;  it 
is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown  a 
natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body." 

Similar  remarks  will  apj\y  to  the  conversation  of  qui 


THE    RESURRECTION.  13P 

Saviour  with  the  Sadducees.  They  had  imagined  a 
resurrection  stale  altogether  analogous  to  this  world,  and 
came  to  him  wilh  an  objection  founded  upon  the  case  of 
the  woman  who  had  seven  husbands,  desiring  to  know 
whose  wife  she  should  be  of  the  seven  in  the  resurrec- 
tion. He  at  once  charged  them  with  ignorance  in  pro- 
posing such  a  question.  "  Ye  do  err  not  knowing  the 
scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God,  for  in  the  resurrection 
they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage  ;  but  are 
as  the  a  igels  of  God  which  are  in  heaven." 

Here  I  rest  upon  this  point;  if  there  is  truth  in  the 
testimony  of  Paul,  or  in  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  then 
is  it  settled,  that  the  state  of  man,  in  the  resurrection, 
is  one  of  immortality,  ineorruption,  glory,  and  power, 
such  as  is  enjoyed  by  the  angels  of  God  which  are  in 
heaven;  nor  is  there  the  least  possible  authority  for  say- 
ing, that  man  shall  be  raised  in  two  classes,  one  like 
the  angels  of  God  in  heaven,  and  the  other  like  the 
devils  that  are  in  heli ' 


14G  DESTBUCTION  OF  DEATH. 


SERMON   X. 
DESTRUCTION    OF   DEATH. 

"And  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  nolthoB 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain,  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away." 

Revelation  xxi.  4. 

In  my  last  lecture  I  spoke  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  as  the  crowning  excellency  of  the  Gospel.  I  at- 
tempted to  show  from  reason,  experience  and  all  that 
we  know  of  the  character  and  government  of  God,  that 
it  was  even  more  than  probable,  if  he  raised  man  from 
the  dead  at  all,  it  would  be  for  the  benevolent  purpose 
of  making  him  holy  and  happy.  I  also  showed  you, 
Tery  briefly,  that  the  scriptures  in  this  respect  harmo- 
nize with  reason  and  experience. 

In  the  present  discourse  I  intend  to  give  you  anothe? 
view  of  the  same  subject,  and  I  shall  attempt  to  show 
you  that  the  resurrection  state,  as  presented  in  the  Gos- 
pel, is  one  of  immortal  blessedness  and  felicity.  In  this 
world,  pain,  sickness,  sorrow  and  death  are  ills  neces- 
sarily incident  to  humanity ;  but  in  that  better  and  hap- 
pier land,  these  things  shall  be  no  more.  Pain,  sorrow 
and  crying,  and  all  that  bears  the  name  of  death,  shall 
be  done  away,  and  shall  be  found  no  more  for  ever. 
Such  is  the  clear  and  explicit  doctrine  of  my  text,  and 
it  is  difficult  for  me  to  conceive  how  ingenuity  or  sophis^ 
try  can  torture  any  thing  else  out  of  it.  I  will  not  there- 
fore, consume  time  in  discussing  the  question,  whether 
the  text  does  or  does  not  teach  that  doctrine ;  for  its 


DESTEUCTION  OF   DEATH.  14^ 

language  is  too  plain  and  positive  to  admit  of  a  doubt 
in  the  candid  and  honest  mind,  which  is  not  warped  by- 
prejudice,  or  darkened  by  superstition. 

I  will  rather  give  you  some  additional  reasons  for  be- 
lieving that  a  result  so  grand  and  glorious,  is  ordained 
in  the  firm  counsels  of  God,  and  must  certainly  be 
realised. 

I.  The  scriptures  elsewhere  affirm  the  same  heart- 
eheering  and  soul-reviving  sentiment. 

For  myself  it  would  not  require  a  miracle,  nor  the  oft 
repeated  testimony  of  the  divine  word,  to  produce  in  my 
mind  the  conviction,  that  a  doctrine  so  perfectly  con- 
sonant to  all  that  I  know  of  God  is  true.  I  see  the 
evidences  of  divine  love  so  legibly  written  out  upon  the 
face  of  nature  and  providence,  and  I  have  experienced 
so  much  of  the  goodness  of  God,  that  I  am  prepared  to 
believe  any  thing  good  of  him.  The  prophet  asks,  "  Is 
iuy  thing  too  hard  for  the  Almighty  ?"  The  answer  is, 
no-  I  ask,  is  any  thing  too  good  for  God  to  do  ?  And 
my  joyful  spirit  answers,  nay.  There  is  no  good,  how- 
ever great,  no  blessing,  however  valuable,  that  we  may 
not  anticipate  from  his  hand. 

If  therefore,  the  final  and  immortal  blessedness  of  the 
world  were  only  whispered  from  on  high,  in  a  solitary 
instance,  I  would  seize  upon  that  whisper  and  hold  it  as  a 
precious  and  sure  foundation  of  hope.  But  it  unfortu- 
nately happens,  that  an  ungrateful  world  of  mortals  are 
far  more  ready  to  believe  evil  than  good  of  God.  You 
may  depict  before  them  a  burning  hell,  filled  with  the 
great  multitude  of  the  human  race,  writhing  in  the 
flames  of  everlasting  torments,  and  God  sitting  upon  a 
throne  high  and  lifted  up,  mocking  their  dismal  groans, 
and  laughing  at  the  contortions  of  deathless  pain.  All 
this  you  may  say  of  your  Fati  er,  and  the  public  ear  will 


142  DESTRUCTION   OF   DEATH, 

be  open  to  receive  the  perjured  lie,  and  the  neartscf  the 
people  will  willingly  believe  even  this  blackest,  foulest 
slander  of  heaven's  gracious  Lord  and  King ! 

From  Adam  i.  the  present  day,  men  have  shown  by 
their  conduct  and  iheir  faith,  that  they  are  far  more 
ready  to  believe  evil  than  good  of  God.  They  will 
sooner  believe  that  God  will  do  them  harm  than  bless 
them.  For  this  cause,  it  is  that  the  Bible  abounds 
in  "  exceedingly  great  and  precious  promises,"  and  gives 
"  line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept,"  for  it  know- 
eth  that  men  are  slow  of  heart  to  believe,  and  prone  to 
stagger  at  the  promises  of  God  through  unbelief. 

Could  I  call  back  from  the  abc-des  of  the  blessed  on 
high  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  the  master-spirit 
of  that  band  of  worthies  who  took  their  lives  in  their 
hands,  and  went  forth  to  proclaim  the  great  salvation, 
he  would  point  to  Jesus,  and  say,  as  he  said  in  the  days 
of  his  flesh,  "  he  must  reign."  Aye,  "  he  must  reign 
until  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet,  and  the  last 
enemy  death  shall  be  destroyed."  He  would  tell  you 
that  "  for  this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested, 
that  he  might  destroy  death,  and  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death,  and  deliver  those  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage;"  that  ''this 
mortal  shall  put  on  immonality,  and  this  corrupdhle 
shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  then  shall  be  brought  to 
pass  the  saying,  that  is  written,  "death  issAvallowed  up 
in  victory  ; "  and  he  would  close  with  the  triumphant 
doxology,  "  Oh  grave  where  is  thy  victory  !  oh  death 
where  is  thy  sting  ?  "  "  Thirty  long  years  did  I  preach 
this  doctrine,  and  labor  and  toil  and  suffer  in  its  defence. 
For  it  I  was  persecuted  ;  I  breathed  the  noisome  vapor 
of  the  dungeon;  I  bore  upon  my  limbs  the  galling  chains; 
I  submitted  my  back   to  the  scourge  till  it  ran  down 


DESTRUCTION   OF    DEATH.  143 

with  gore ;  I  bore  the  bruises  of  stones  that  were  hurled 
by  my  enemies ;  and  all  that  I  might  preach  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ.  Therefore  did  I  both  labour 
and  suffer  reproach,  because  I  trusted  in  the  living  God, 
who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  them  that 
believe. 

Could  I  call  upon  the  spirit  that  touched  Isaiah's  hal- 
lowed lips  with  a  coal  from  the  altar  of  truth  in  heaven, 
I  should  hear  repeated  again,  what  is  already  written 
for  your  instruction,  "  He  will  swallow  up  death  in  vic- 
tory, and  the  Lord  God  will  wipe  away  tears  from  all 
faces,  and  he  will  destroy  the  face  of  the  covering  cast 
over  all  people,  and  the  veil  that  is  spread  over  all 
nations,  and  the  rebuke  of  his  people  shall  he  take  away 
from  all  the  earth,  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it."  "  The 
ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return  and  come  to  Zion, 
with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads,  they 
shall  find  joy  and  gladness,  and  sighing  and  sorrowing 
shall  flee  away."  Indeed  all  the  prophets  have  spoken 
of  these  things,  for  an  Apostle  says,  "  God  has  spoken 
of  the  times  of  the  restitution  of  all  things  by  the 
mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets,  since  the  world  began." 
Not  one  of  them  has  failed,  but  they  have  all  spoke  of 
these  limes,  and  borne  their  testimony  that  there  shall 
come  a  lime  when  sin  and  sorrow,  pain,  crying  and 
death,  shall  be  known  no  more. 

I  may  as  well  pause  here  as  any  where,  for  there  is 
no  end  to  testimony  of  this  kind,  and  if  the  clear  and 
explicit  word  already  quoted  does  not  produce  conviction, 
no  amount  of  evidence  would  be  sufficient;  for  if  men 
will  not  believe  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  would 
they  be  persuaded  though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead. 
I  lay  it  down  therefore,  as  a  doctrine  established  by  the 
concurrent  testimony  of  all  God's  holy  prophets,  since 


144  DESTRUCTION   OF   DEATH. 

the  world  began,  that  all  sorrow  and  crying  shall  cease; 
and  pain  and  death  shall  be  no  more. 

I  know  the  objection  that  will  rise  in  the  minds  of  my 
hearers  here.  I  shall  be  told  that  I  quote  only  the 
promises  of  the  Gospel,  but  I  pass  by  the  ihreatenings 
of  the  law.  Though  there  are  many  great  and  precious 
promises,  there  are  also  severe  threatenings.  But  what 
then  ?  Is  the  law  against  the  promises  ?  I  answer,  as 
the  Apostle  answered,  "  By  no  means,"  and  I  say  as  he 
said,  "  The  covenant  which  was  before  confirmed  of  God 
in  Christ,  the  law  which  came  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years  afterward,  cannot  disannul,  that  it  should  make 
the  promises  of  God  of  none  effect."  I  know,  as  well 
as  you  can  know,  that  there  are  many  threatenings  in 
the  law,  but  I  tell  you  that  these  are  not  against  the 
promises,  and  when  you  explain  them  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  make  them  conflict  with  the  promises,  you  pervert 
them.  I  care  not  how  ingenious  your  reasoning,  or  how 
plausible  your  conclusion,  here  is  the  rule  laid  down  by 
the  Apostle,  "  The  law  is  not  against  the  promises,"  and 
if  you  make  it  so  by  your  explanation,  your  explanation 
\  is  wrong.  This  is  a  rule  that  you  are  bound  to  follow; 
1  for  I  maintain  you  have  no  right  to  give  such  inter- 
l  pretations  of  the  law  as  will  set  it  against  the  promises. 
'^Ve  are  frequently  accused  of  explaining  away  and 
perverting  the  threatenings,  and  I  must  illustrate  this 
matter,  for  by  it  we  are  frequently  thrown  into  a  false 
position.  Here  is  the  covenant,  it  promises  with  the 
most  solemn  certainty,  that  there  shall  come  a  time 
when  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor 
crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain.  The  ob- 
jector brings  up  one  of  the  threatenings,  as  for  instance, 
"These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment;'* 
and  he  asks  me,  how  I  will  explain  it  consistently  with 


DESTRUCTION   OF   DEATH.  145 

my  views  ?  Now  suppose  I  could  not  do  so  a  id  suppose 
also,  there  were  a  hundred  other  passages  of  ihe  same 
kind,  which  I  could  not  explain  in  accordance  with  mv 
text ;  why,  the  mass  of  community  would  cry  out,  that 
the  Universalist  was  confounded,  and  his  doctrine  false. 
But  stop  a  moment.  This  should  be  my  answer:— I  tell 
you  sir,  frankly,  that  I  do  not  know  what  that  passage 
or  these  passages  mean.  They  are  to  me  dark.  But  I 
can  tell  you  what  they  do  not  mean.  They  do  not 
mean  any  thing  contrary  to  the  covenant  of  eternal  mer- 
cy and  truth  ;  for  the  law  is  not  against  the  Gospel ;  and 
I  think  it  more  likely  that  you,  sir,  are  mistaken  than, 
that  God  should  contradict,  in  one  part  of  his  word, 
what  he  has  said  in  another.  God  has  said  there  shall.' 
be  no  more  pain,  sorrow,  nor  crying,  and  though  I  know 
not  the  meaning  of  that  passage,  I  do  know  that  he 
does  not  there  contradict  himself,  and  teach  endless- 
pain  and  sorrow. 

Do  you  tell  me  that  such  is  the  obvious  import  of  the 
passage  ?     My  answer  is,  then  the  two  passages  contra^ 
diet  themselves,  and  it  is  not  my  business,  but  yours^  Xo- 
explain  the  matter.     I  am  not  willing  to  undertake,  gra- 
tuitously, the  labour  of  extricating  you  from  your  own 
contradictions ;  and  if  I  do  so,  I  protest  most  seriously 
that  you  shall  not  stand  by  and  tauntingly  accuse  me  of 
explaining  away  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures.     I  tell 
you,   yet  once  more,  that  the  law  is  not  against  the- 
promises,  and  if  you,  by  your  explanations,  set  them  at 
variance,  it  is  your  business  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty; 
and  if  you  will  not  allow  me  so  to  explain  the  law  that 
it  shall  agree  v/ith  the  promises,  I  shall  turn  you  over 
to  the  infidel,  whose  mouth  you  fill  with  arguments,  say- 
ing, your  Bible  is  a  bundle  of  contradictions,, piomising, 
in  one  place  what  it  denies  in  another. 
13 


146  DESTRUCTION   OF   DEATH. 

I  have  made  these  remarks  upon  the  supposition  that 
no  man  can  so  explain  the  threatenings,  that  they  shall 
clearly  be  seen  to  harmonize  with  the  promises.  But 
this  I  am  not  willing  to  grant  for  truth.  I  will  not  say 
what  I  can  do,  but  I  do  say,  that  there  is  no  threatening 
of  the  law  which  is  not  susceptible  of  a  reasonable  and 
consistent  explanation,  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  promises. 

It  surely  cannot  be  expected  of  me,  that  I  shall  take 
up  all  the  threatenings  of  the  law,  and  explain  them  in 
this  discourse.  I  will  take  a  single  one,  and  that  shall 
be  the  one  already  quoted,  "  These  shall  go  away  into 
everlasting  punishment."  If  by  the  word  everlasting, 
here,  you  understand  a  strictly  endless  duration,  it  will 
at  once  be  seen  that  the  passage  contradicts  that  sacred 
promise  of  the  Gospel,  which  guarantees  that  the  time 
shall  come  when  tears  shall  be  wiped  from  all  faces,  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  pain,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying. 
But  is  the  law  against  the  promises?  The  Apostle  says, 
No.  Well,  then,  your  exposition  of  the  text  is  wrong. 
What  shall  be  done  ?  Why,  just  turn  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  see  how  the  writers  used  the  word  ever- 
lasting. There  you  read  of  an  "everlasting  priesthood," 
of  an  "  everlasting  possession  "  of  the  land  of  Canaan  by 
the  children  of  Israel ;  and  many  other  things  are  called 
everlasting,  which  we  know  either  have  or  must  come 
to  an  end.  Why,  then,  may  we  not  suppose  that  Jesus 
i  used  the  word  in  the  same  sense  that  it  was  used  in  the 
Old  Testament,  and  thus  avoid  the  absurdity  of  making 
the  Scriptures  contradict  themselves?  In  this  sense  of 
the  word,  there  is  perfect  harmony  between  the  threat- 
enings and  the  promises;  and  though  the  penalty  of  thft 
law  is  executed,  it  wii  not  prevent  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promises. 


DESTRUCTION    OF    DEATH.  147 

But  I  observe  again,  The  very  fact  that  Gcd  thieatens 
in  the  Bible  to  punish  sin,  is  a  proof  that  such  a  time  as 
is  named  in  my  text  will  come.  Suppose,  for  instance, 
our  rulers  should  make  laws,  and  annex  to  them  no  pen- 
alties, and  that  the  executors  of  the  laws  should  take  no 
notice  of  transgression.  Would  not  the  inference  be  un- 
avoidable, that  our  legislators  cared  not  for  obedience  to 
the  laws  ?  But  let  them  make  laws,  and  guard  them 
by  proper  penalties,  and  then  let  us  see  the  officers  of 
justice  vigilant  in  seeking  out  and  visiting  the  penalty 
of  the  laws  upon  the  guilty.  Then  may  we  conclude 
that  our  rulers  are  opposed  to  crime,  and  determined  to 
suppress  it.  So  in  this  case,  if  God  did  not  threaten  to 
punish  sin,  we  might  conclude  that  obedience  and  dis- 
obedience were  alike  to  him.  But  when  we  see  his  law 
guarded  by  a  penalty,  and  read  that  "  the  wrath  of  Go'j 
is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all  unrighteousness," 
we  hail  it  as  a  proof  that  God  is  the  friend  of  virtue, 
which  is  peace,  and  that  he  is  opposed  to  all  sin,  and 
determmed  to  suppress  it;  aye,  to  uproot  it  from  the 
universe. 

Bring  out,  now,  your  threatenings  of  the  law;  array 
them  all  before  me,  and  shout  in  anticipation  of  victory. 
Your  triumph  is  short.  You  are  proving  the  very  thing 
you  would  disprove.  I  allow  there  are  many  threaten- 
ings in  the  Bible.  But  what  then  ?  Are  these  threaten- 
mgs  against  the  promises  ?  Once  more,  I  tell  you  nay. 
They  are  the  proof  that  God  is  the  friend  of  order,  law, 
virtue,  and  happiness;  that  he  is  the  enemy  of  sin  and 
misery,  and  that  he  will  destroy  them  for  ever,  and  ful- 
fil his  gracious  promises  in  the  estaUishment  of  univer- 
sal holiness  and  felicity. 

Thus  much  I  have  felt  myself  in  duty  boui\d  to  say,  of 
the  threatenings  of  the  law  and  I  have  done  so,  because 


148  DESTRUCTION   OF    DEATH. 

it  was  impassible  for  me  lo  take  up,  one  by  one,  these 
threaienings,  and  explain  them;  and  because  these 
principles  of  interpretation  will  put  it  in  your  power  to 
explain  them  for  yourselves,  so  far  as  their  bearing  upon 
the  question  before  us  is  concerned.  Take  this  rule 
along  with  you,  and  you  need  not  err.  "  The  law  is  not 
against  the  promises,"  and  when  you  find  any  explana- 
tion of  a  threatening  of  the  law,  which  makes  it  contra- 
dict the  promises  of  God,  be  assured  that  explanation  is 
wrong.     But  I  pass  on  and  remark, 

II.  The  very  constitution  of  man  i&  proof  of  th"*  truth 
of  our  main  position. 

In  all  the  ever-varied  and  changing  circumstances  of 
human  life,  there  may  be  found  in  man  a  firmly-seated 
principle,  which  leads  him  onward,  and  bears  him  up- 
ward, to  immortality;  a  principle  that  yearns  for  future 
life,  and  pants  for  deliverance  from  the  grave.  Now, 
there  is  no  other  way  in  which  I  can  account  for  this 
fact,  but  upon  the  supposition  that  the  same  God  who 
has  planted  this  seed  in  an  earthly  soil,  has  determined 
that  it  shall  spring  up,  and  grow,  and  ripen,  in  a  better 
world.  Otherwise,  man  would  have  been  made  like  the 
beasts,  with  no  hope  or  wish  extending  into  the  future. 

But  there  is  another  view  to  be  taken  of  this  matter. 
The  text  points  not  only  to  the  triumph  over  death,  but 
to  the  end  of  pain,  sorrow,  and  crying.  It  is  worthy  of 
some  consideration,  that  none  of  these  are  elements  of 
the  mind.  We  shrink  from  pain  with  instinctive  dread, 
and  we  would  avoid  all  sorrow.  Had  it  been  the  inten- 
tion of  the  wise  Creator  that  man  should  be  eternally 
the  subject  of  pain  and  sorrow,  he  would  have  so  made 
him,  that  these  should  have  been  the  elements  of  the 
mind,  and  necessary  to  his  comfoi  table  existence.  This 
he  has  not  done,  and  hence  W3  iifer,  that  they  are  not 


DESTRUCTION   OF   DEAIH.  149 

ends  in  the  divine  government,  but  sin.  ply  the  means 
employed  to  promote  other  ends.  In  thi-  imperfect 
state,  they  may  be  necessary  as  a  medicino,  but  they 
are  not  food;  and  in  that  blessed  land  whose  inhabitants 
shall  never  say  "  I  am  sick,"  they  will  not  be  needful. 

I  might  push  the  argument  further,  and  show  you, 
from  the  very  first  principles  of  philosophy,  that  the 
endless  continuance  of  pain  and  sorrow  is  impossible. 
The  tendency  of  all  pain  is  to  corrode  and  destroy,  and 
if  It  preys  continually  upon  the  mind  or  body,  it  will  de- 
stroy it.  If,  therefore,  man,  in  the  other  world,  shall  be 
the  subject  of  perpetual  pain,  he  must  also  be  the  sub- 
ject of  death;  and  even  then  it  could  not  be  of  endless 
duration;  because  it  would  cease,  for  the  same  reason 
*hal  ure  will  go  out  when  it  has  consumed  the  fuel  upon 
whicu  it  feeds.  These  are  mere  hints,  thrown  out  with 
a  hope  that  my  hearers  will  reflect  upon  them  at  their 
leisure. 

liL  The  character  of  God  affords  strong  ground  for 
hope  that  mis  text  will  be  fulfilled. 

'I'hat  God  is  possessed  of  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness,  no  man  who  believes  the  Bible  can  question 
Now,  it  will  not  be  disputed,  that  a  God  of  infinite  wis 
dom  could,  if  he  were  so  disposed,  devise  a  plan,  which 
if  carried  into  effect,  would  result  in  the  final  and  com- 
plete happiness  of  all  the  creatures  of  his  creation.  There 
is  just  as  little  doubt  that  infinite  goodness  would  seek 
this,  ihe  best  of  all  possible  objects.  Neither  can  it  be 
doubled  that  almighty  power  could  execute  the  plan 
suggested  by  goodness  and  contrived  by  wisdom.  It  is 
therefore  evident,  that  the  result  of  the  combineu*  action 
of  these  admitted  attributes  of  the  Deity,  is  the  very 
thing  for  which  we  are  contending,  and  this  conclusion 
cannot  be  avoided  without  denying  the  perfection  of  one, 
13* 


150  DESTRUCTION   OF   DEATH. 

or  all  these  attributes  of  God.  If  we  say  he  could  not 
do  it,  we  limit  his  wisdom  or  power,  and  if  we  say  he 
would  not,  we  deny  his  goodness;  and  in  either  case  we 
deny  that  God  which  the  Bible  sets  forth,  and  all  na- 
ture teaches  us  to  adore. 

Still  again,  there  is  no  conceivable  good  that  could 
result  from  the  endless  continuance  of  doath,  pain,  and 
sorrow.  Though  we  shudder  at  the  thought  of  death, 
yet  sober  reason  will  tell  us,  that  in  this  world  it  is 
needful  that  we  should  die.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  the 
blessed  Gospel,  death  is 

"  The  door  to  everlasting  bliss," 

and  it  comes  to  man  as  a  friend,  and  is 

"  But  the  voice  that  Jesus  sends, 
To  call  us  to  his  arms." 

In  this  light  we  can  see  how  a  wise  and  kind  Father 
could  introduce  death  into  the  world.  The  mind  thus 
enlightened  can  sentimentally  adopt  the  language  oTthe 
poet,  and  say, 

"  I  would  not  live  ahvay  away  from  my  God, 
Away  from  yon  heaven,  that  blissful  abode. 
Where  the  rivers  of  pleasure  roll  o'er  the  bright  plains, 
And  the  noontide  of  glory  eternally  reigns." 

The  same  is  true  of  all  the  pains,  sorrows,  and  afflic- 
tions of  this  life.  Viewing  them  as  means,  and  not 
ends,  of  the  divine  government,  we  can  say  that  they 
are  the  well-intended  chastisements  of  a  faithful  friend, 
designed  to  train  us  for  the  skies,  and  wean  our  atfec- 
tions  from  that  world  which  we  must  shortly  leave 
In  this  view,  we  can  see  the  goodness  of  God  shining 
out  from  ihi  darknesf  of  the  grave,  and  from  every  clouQ 


DESTRUCTION   OF   DEATH.  15] 

oi  sorrow,  like  a  beautiful  bow  of  promise,  from  ihe 
lowering  storm,  which  God  has  made  the  tokeu  of  his 
steadfast  covenant. 

But  once  admit  that  death,  and  pain,  and  sorrow,  are 
to  remain  for  ever,  and  the  aspect  of  things  is  fearfully 
changed.  In  vain  may  you  then  ask  for  any  good  result 
from  these  existences,  for  neither  God,  nor  man,  nor 
angels,  nor  demons,  could  reap  either  pleasure,  ease, 
profit,  or  advantage,  from  them.  On  the  contrary,  the 
effect  would  be  evil,  and  only  evil,  and  that  continually. 
Hence  I  say,  that  the  character  of  God,  as  a  good  being, 
forbids  their  endless  existence,  and  speaks  eloquently  in 
favor  of  the  doctrme  of  my  text 

IV.  The  fourth,  and  last  reason  I  offer  in  support  of  the 
position  assumed,  is  found  in  the  text  itself.  "  For  the 
former  things  are  passed  away."  I  understand  the  rex  e- 
iator  here  to  teach,  that  all  the  causes  of  death,  pain, 
sorrow,  and  crying,  shall  pass  away,  and  this  is  a  good 
rea§on  why  the  effect  shall  cease  also.  For  if  the  foun- 
tain is  dried  up,  the  streams  must  of  course  cease  to  flow. 

What  is  the  cause  of  death  ?  If  you  allude  to  natural 
death,  it  is  the  necessary  effect  of  nature's  laws  operat- 
ing on  a  mortal  body  ;  and  if  you  allude  to  moral  death, 
it  is  the  effect  of  sin.  But  these  pass  away.  The  word 
of  the  testimony  is,  that  "as  we  have  borne  the  image 
of  the  earthly,  so  we  shall  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly, 
and  as  we  were  sown  a  mortal  body,  we  shall  be  raised 
a  spiritual  body."  Here,  then,  you  may  see  that  man 
shall  leave  mortality  in  the  grave,  and  rise  in  the 
strength  of  a  new  and  immortal  constitution,  and  thus, 
the  causes  of  death  having  passed  away,  "  there  shall 
be  no  more  death." 

Look  at  it  in  another  light.  The  cause  of  moral  death 
is  sin.     But  the  carnal  mmd  must  pass  away,  and  with 


.32  DESTRUCTION    DF    DEATH. 

it  all  those  lusts  and  passiois  which  lead  men  into  sin. 
There,  in  that  better  world,  man  shall  be  spiritual,  im- 
mortal, and  incorruptible,  and  he  shall  sin  no  more  foi 
ever.  All  sorrow,  crying,  and  pain,  shall  pass  away,  for 
the  same  reason — the  causes  that  produce  them  shall  be 
found  no  more  to  exist. 

What  are  the  causes  of  pain  and  sorrow  ?  I  answer, 
they  are  many.  First  upon  the  catalogue  is  sin,  the 
"  prolific  mother  of  all  our  woes."  But  this  shall  pass 
away,  for  Jesus  must  reign  until  he  hath  subdued  all 
things  unto  himself,  and  God  shall  be  all  in  all.  Then 
shall  the  deepest,  darkest,  bitterest  fountain  of  human 
wo  be  dried  up,  and  man  shall  no  more  feel  the  pangs 
of  guilt,  nor  writhe  under  the  scourgings  of  remorse  and 
fear,  for  holiness,  and  peace,  shall  reign  in  all  the  souls 
that  God  has  made. 

But  ignorance  and  error  are  causes  of  much  sorrow 
and  crying.  Man  is  ignorant,  and  he  knows  not  the 
God  that  made  him,  nor  his  own  destuiy.  He  pictures 
to  himself  a  God  of  wrath  and  fury,  and  trembles  like  a 
slave  before  him.  On  the  wings  of  imagination  he  goes 
forward  to  the  future  world,  and  superstition  rears  her 
fabled  hell,  and  peoples  it  with  thronging  millions  of 
the  human  race,  and  bids  man  behold  there  his  possible, 
nay,  even  probable  home.  Fathers  mourn  for  their  sons, 
and  mothers  for  their  children  ;  not  as  Rachael,  because 
they  are  not;  but  because  they  fear  that  they  are  either 
suffering,  or  in  danger  of  suffering  the  torments  of  the 
eternal  pit.  O !  who  can  tell  how  deep  the  tide,  and 
how  awful  the  amount  of  sorrow  that  every  day  wit- 
nesses, as  the  effect  of  this  God-dishonoring  and  joy- 
killing  superstition  of  the  world  But  these  shall  pass 
away.  The  light  of  eternity  shall  unveil  the  king  in 
his  beauty,  and  pour  a  flood  of  ijloryupon  the  vision  of  a 


DESTRUCTION    OF   DEATH.  153 

risen,  purified,  and  exalted  world.  Then  shall  the 
things  which  prophets  and  patriarchs  saw,  through  a 
glass  darkly,  be  seen  face  to  face;  and  the  fulfilment  of 
all  that  has  been  spoken,  shall  reveal  to  man  the  fact, 
that  God's  grace  has  made  him  the  heir  of  an  inheri- 
tance incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away. 
Then  truth  shall  be  victorious,  and  all  error  be  lost  in 
eternal  day,  "and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither 
sorrow  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain, 
for  the  former  things  are  passed  away."  Such  is  the 
final  result  of  the  divine  government,  and  truly  it  is 
worthy  of  a  God! 

I  look  around  me  on  earth,  and  I  see  death  riding 
forth  conquering  and  to  conquer.  He  whets  his  glitter- 
ing sword,  and  the  young,  and  the  strong,  fall  before 
him.  He  bends  his  bow,  and  the  arrow  speeds  for  the 
life  of  his  fated  victim.  I  look  again,  and  my  fellows 
are  falling,  as  leaves  before  the  chilling  blast,  into  the 
grave.  I  look  to  the  future,  and  I  know  that  when  a 
few  more  years,  at  most,  are  passed,  our  heads  will  be 
low,  and  the  sad  funeral  knell  shall  be  sounded  over  the 
last  of  all  that  now  live  and  breathe  the  vital  air.  I  see 
the  tears  falling  fast  and  freely,  from  the  eyes  of  the 
afflicted,  and  the  cast  down,  and  I  hear  the  sigh  of  the 
widow,  and  the  moan  of  the  orphan,  borne  upon  every 
passing  gale  that  blows.  But  I  remember  that  these 
thmgs  are  but  for  a  season.  Soon,  very  soon,  all  the 
myriads  of  the  human  family  shall  be  delivered,  and 
shall  feel  sorrow  and  pain  no  more  for  ever. 

But  I  cannot  pause  here.  I  look  to  the  heavens,  and 
ihey  are  garnished  with  stars,  and  I  remember  that 
these  stars,  though  but  specks  to  us,  are  worlds  so  large, 
that  our  earth  is  but  an  atom  in  the  comparison.  The 
presumption  is  that  God  has  peopled  their  solitudes, 


154  DESTRUCTION   OF   -jCATH. 

and  caused  them  to  swarm  with  life  and  intelligence. 
Whether  the  fair  face  of  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  is  ever 
wet  with  the  tears  of  anguish,  or  whether  death  there 
reigns,  we  have  not  been  certified.  But  this  one  thing 
we  may  conclude.  If  sympathizing  natures  now  weep 
in  other  worlds,  or  death  now  sways  his  sceptre  over 
other  intelligences,  or  sin  has  reared  his  head  in  the  distant 
stars,  it  shall  not  be  so  always,  for  these  things  shall  pass 
away,  and  in  all  the  universe  of  God,  there  shall  be  no 
more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain.  While  far,  far  beyond  this 
earthly  sphere,  system  rolls  on  system,  and  world  on 
world,  and  distant  ^planets  wheel  their  endless  circles 
round  their  centres,  and  these  again  round  one  common 
centre,  God — so  shall  it  be  in  the  moral  universe.  Dis- 
cord and  strife  shall  cease.  God's  hand  shall  move  on 
his  own  undisturbed  affairs  in  perfect  harmony  and 
peace.  The  last  tear  shall  fall  from  the  eye  of  sorrow, 
and  the  last  sigh  of  anguish  shall  be  hushed  in  the 
silence  of  perpetual  joy,  nor  shall  weeping  be  heard 
again  while  God's  throne  shall  stand. 

"  No  sigh,  no  murmur,  the  wide  world  shall  hear, 
From  every  face,  he  wipes  off  every  tear, 
In  adamantine  chains  shall  death  Ve  bound, 
And  hell's  grim  tyrant  feel  the  eternal  wound." 

Such  is  the  plan  of  God,  and  such  the  grand  consum- 
mation to  Ayhich  the  text  points  the  eye  of  faith! 

Praise  the  Lord  !   all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ! 

Praise  him  !  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ! 

Praise  him  !  ye  heavens,  and  ve  waters  that  are  above 
the  heavens  I 

Let  every  thing  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord ! 

Oh !  speak  good  of  his  name,  for  he  is  good,  and  his 
mercy  endureth  for  ever. 


KATUBE  OF    SALVATION.  155 


SERMON    XI. 
NATURE  OF   SALVATION. 

"  For  therefore  we  both  labor  and  suffer  reproach ,  because  we  trust  in  the 
living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  those  that  believe." 

1  Tim.  iv.  10. 

It  is  a  lamentable  truth,  that  in  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries, those  who  have  embraced  opinions  differing  from 
the  popular  doctrines  of  the  day,  have  suffered  reproach 
in  consequence  of  their  faith.  Man  has  forgotten  the 
great  truth  that  his  fellow-man  has  the  same  right  to  think 
as  himself,  and  that  every  one  is  accountable  for  himself, 
and  to  God  alone.  For  this  reason  he  has  persecuted 
his  fellow  for  his  opinions'  sake,  and  pointed  to  the  man 
whose  faith  did  not  exactly  square  with  the  populai 
standard,  as  a  proper  object  of  reproach,  and  a  mark  at 
which  bigotry  might  hurl  her  arrows  of  wrath  with 
impunity. 

Look  for  a  moment  at  the  life  and  ministry  of  Christ, 
for  an  illustration  of  this  remark.  He  taught  a  system 
of  faith  and  practice  somewhat  different  from  the  pre- 
vailing notions  of  the  day.  For  this  reason  he  suffered 
reproach  from  the  people  to  whom  he  came  with  his 
message  of  grace  and  truth.  They  even  followed  hira 
with  the  bloody  sword  of  the  persecutor,  and  paused  not 
until  they  heard  his  dying  groan  from  an  ignominious 
cross. 

So  it  was  with  his  disciples.     They  had  learned  their 


i5(i  NATUKE   OF    SAL  VATIC  If. 

doctrines  from  Christ,  and  were  preachers  of  that  Gos- 
pel, which  carried  the  joys  of  salvation,  not  merely  to 
the  Jews,  but  also  to  the  Gentiles.  The  consequence 
was,  that  the  wrath  of  the  people  waxed  exceedingly 
liot  against  them,  and  the  storm  which  had  gathered 
around  their  Master,  broke  with  violence  upon  their 
heads.  Hence  their  lives  were  made,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end,  one  continued  scene  of  reproach  and 
suffering. 

The  text  informs  us,  in  a  very  explicit  manner,  what 
was  the  obnoxious  feature  in  their  faith,  which  caused 
all  their  sufferings.  What  think  you,  my  hearers,  it 
was  that  excited  the  opposition  and  persecution  of  the 
world?  Was  it  their  faith  in  an  angry  and  cruel  God, 
a  merciless  devil,  or  an  endless  hell  ?  Did  they  curse 
the  people  with  endless  wo,  and  while  they  saved  a  few 
damn  the  great  mass  of  community?  Nay,  nothing 
like  it.  But  they  "  trusted  in  the  living  God  who  was 
the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  those  that  believ- 
sd,"  and  for  this  cause  they  were  met  with  all  the  powers 
of  reproach  and  persecution.  To  the  narrow  minds, 
and  selfish  feelings  of  the  people  of  that  age,  no  senti- 
ment was  more  obnoxious  than  this. 

The  Jews,  as  a  people,  had  long  considered  them- 
selves as  the  peculiar  people  of  God,  and  the  only  ob- 
jects of  heaven's  favorable  regard.  They  were  the 
children  of  Abraham,  and  Abraham  was  the  father  of 
the  faithful,  and  they  expected,  in  consequence  of  that 
relationship,  to  be  the  favorites  of  heaven ;  nor  did  they 
imagine  that  the  Gentiles  could  at  all  be  included  in  the 
covenant  of  eternal  mercy.  So  thought  the  most  liberal 
among  them ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  could  not » 
extend  the  mercies  of  God  so  far  as  to  reach  the  case  of 
all  the  Jews.     The  Pharisee  and  the  Sadducee,  could 


NATURE    OF    SALVATION.  Iff? 

each  claim  for  himself  and  his  sect,  a  monopoly  of  the 
divine  mercy,  and  deny  it  to  the  other. 

With  such  views  and  feelings,  it  is  no  matter  of  sur- 
prise, that  ihey  should  rise  up  in  opposition  to  a  system 
which  laid  the  axe  at  the  root  of  all  :heir  selfish  hopes, 
and  taught  them  to  trust  in  God  alone,  whose  goodness 
was  as  rich  and  free  for  the  Gentile  as  the  Jew,  and  to 
whom  the  distinctions  of  nations,  tribes,  and  sects,  were 
all  alike.  It  v/as  not  to  be  expected  that  those  who  had 
considered  themselves  better  than  others,  and  who  had 
trusted  themselves  that  they  were  righteous,  should 
come  down  upon  a  level  with  others,  and  willingly 
trust  in  a  God  who  would  save  their  enemies  as  well  as 
themselves. 

If  Paul  and  his  coadjutors  had  flattered  the  vanity  of 
the  Jews,  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees,  and  told  them 
that  they  should  all  be  saved,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
should  be  damned,  they  would  have  been  well  pleased 
with  such  a  sentiment,  and  we  should  never  have  heard 
of  the  labors  and  sufferings  of  the  apostles  in  the  pro- 
mulgation of  such  a  faith.  But  when  they  told  the 
people  that  God  was  the  Father  of  all,  and  informed  the 
proud  and  self-righteous  Pharisees,  that  so  far  from 
their  being  favorites  of  God,  and  exclusive  heirs  of  the 
kingdom,  "  even  publicans  and  harlQts  should  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  before  them,"  then  it  was  that 
their  pride  was  hurt,  and  they  rose  up  to  reproach  and 
condemn. 

I  cannot  omit  the  remark  here,  that  the  same  spirit 
which  reproached  the  apostles,  still  lives,  and  lifts  the 
few  above  the  many,  and  hurls  the  thunders  of  deepest 
damnation  at  those  who  venture  to  extend  salvation  be- 
yond the  landmark  set  up  by  the  popular  faith  of  the 
day.  The  great  mass  of  professors  of  Christianity, 
U 


158  NATURE   OF   SALVATION. 

however,  have  avoided  the  reproach  of  trusting  in  tho 
living  God  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  by  ceasing  to 
trust  in  such  a  God.  Where,  among  all  the  numerous 
sects  of  Christians,  will  you  find  the  one  that  trusts  in 
God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men  ?  Is  it  the  Calvin- 
ist?  Who  ever  heard  of  a  man  being  reproached  for 
believing  in  the  salvation  of  all,  who  adhered  to  the 
creed  which  saith :  "  God  out  of  his  own  mere  good 
pleasure,  elected  some  to  be  redeemed  and  everlastingly 
saved,  and  the  remainder  he  was  pleased  to  pass  by, 
and  ordain  to  dishonor  and  wrath,  to  the  praise  of  his 
vindictive  justice?"  Does  the  Methodist  labor  and  suf- 
fer reproach  for  this  cause  ?  I  have  indeed  heard  the  en- 
emies of  that  sect,  charge  them  with  holding  to  senti- 
ments which  would  lead  to  the  salvation  of  all ;  but  I 
have  just  as  often  heard  the  charge  repelled  as  a  gross 
slander,  accompanied  with  a  prompt  denial  that  they 
believe  any  such  thing.  Again  then,  I  ask,  who  are 
they  who  now  both  labor  and  suffer  reproach,  because 
they  trust  in  the  living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
men  ?  I  leave  you  to  answer  the  question,  and  I  know 
that  you  can,  if  you  will,  answer  it  correctly. 

I  may  remark,  in  passing,  that  God  is  the  Saviour  of 
no  more  than  he  saves  or  will  save.  If  ten  men  are  in 
danger  of  upsetting  in  a  boat,  and  I  go  out  to  save 
them,  you  could  not  call  me  the  saviour  of  ten,  unless  I 
saved  them.  If  you  saw  me  launch  out  for  their  relief, 
and  knew  perfectly  well  that  I  would  save  them,  you 
could  with  propriety  call  me  the  saviour  of  the  ten,  even 
before  the  work  was  actually  done;  but  if  it  should  turn 
out,  in  the  end,  that  I  should  save  but  five,  then  it  would 
prove,  that  you  was  mistaken  in  saying  that  I  was  th« 
saviDur  of  the  ten.  So  here,  God  is  not  the  Saviour  of  a 
•oul  more  iha'i  he  ictually  saves.     True,  that  work  ii 


NATURE   OF   SALVATION  159 

not  yet  accomplished.  But  the  apostle  knew  that  he 
had  engaged  ia  the  work,  and  that  he  could  not  fail  of 
success,  and  therefore  he  called  him  the  Saviour  of  all 
men.  But  should  it  turn  out,  in  the  end,  that  God 
should  save  but  a  part,  then  would  it  be  proved  that  the 
apostle  was  wrong,  when  he  called  him  the  "  Saviour 
of  all  men." 

I  know  it  is  said,  that  God  offers  salvation  to  all;  but 
it  should  be  remembered  that  an  offer  of  salvation  is 
one  thing,  and  salvation  itself  is  another.  If  I  offer  to 
save  a  man  who  is  drowning,  thai  does  not  save  him, 
neither  does  it  make  me  his  saviour  from  death.  God 
may  offer  salvation  to  man,  but  that  does  not  save  him, 
neither  does  it  make  God  his  Saviour.  He  is  the  Saviour 
only  of  as  many  as  he  saves.  Should  any  man  dispute 
this,  I  ask  him  to  go  forward  to  the  future  world,  and 
as  he  looks  down  into  that  dismal  hell,  in  which  he  be- 
lieves, and  beholds  the  multitude  of  its  hopeless  inhabi- 
tants, let  him  tell  me,  if  he  will,  in  what  sense  God  is 
their  Saviour  ?  It  matters  not  what  may  have  been 
offered  them,  what  have  they  received?  is  the  question 
on  wnich  your  answer  must  depend.  I  care  not  what 
means  may  have  been  put  in  operation  for  their  salva- 
tion. If  these  means  were  not  effectual,  and  they  are 
not  saved,  then  God  is  not  their  Saviour,  and  the  apostle 
labored  and  suffered  reproach  for  a  trust,  that  was  vain 
and  futile  in  the  extreme. 

It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  in  this  discourse,  to 
argue  at  great  length  the  question  of  the  extent  of  salva- 
tion, but  rather  I  propose  to  explain  its  nature. 

The  term  salvation  is  used  generally  in  a  very  vague 
and  indefinite  sense,  and  much  of  the  controversy  about 
the  extent  and  conditions  of  salvation,  arises  from  a 
want  of  precision  in  the  idea  attached  to  this  word.   Tho 


160  NATURE   OF   SALVATION. 

scriptures  use  it  in  various  senses,  according  to  the  cir« 
cunistances  and  situation  of  the  person,  or  persons,  who 
are  said  to  be  saved.  When  Peter,  sinking  in  the  deep, 
cried,  ^'' Lord  save  ??2e,"  we  understand  that  he  wished 
to  be  saved  from  drowning.  When  Paul  said,  "  Except 
these  abide  in  the  ship  ye  cannot  be  saved^^''  we  suppose 
he  alluded  to  their  salvation  from  death,  which  then 
stared  them  in  the  face.  Many  other  instances  might 
be  noted  of  a  similar  character,  but  these  are  sufficient 
to  show,  that  there  is  need  of  much  caution  in  regard  to 
the  use  of  this  word,  and  that  we  shall  greatly  err  if 
we  apply  this  word  always  to  a  future  and  eternal  sal- 
vation. 

There  has  been  a  great  question  in  the  Vv^orld,  whether 
gospel  salvation  is  conditional  or  unconditional,  limited 
or  universal;  and  it  will  appear  in  the  course  of  this 
discussion,  that  all  this  controversy  originates  in  a  want 
of  attention  to  the  meaning  of  this  word,  and  that,  in 
a  sense,  both  parties  have  been  right,  and  both  wrong. 
There  are  tioo  kinds  of  salvation  mentioned  in  the  text, 
and  it  will  appear  on  examination,  that  one  is  limited 
and  conditional,  and  the  other  universal  and  uncon- 
ditional. iSo  that  what  may  be  affirmed  of  the  one, 
cannot  be  affirmed  of  the  other.  To  illustrate  these  two 
kinds  of  salvation  is  the  work  now  before  us.     I  notice 

I.  The  special  salvation  of  the  believer.  God  is  the 
Saviour  of  all  men,  especia.Jy  of  those  that  believe. 

It  is  often  remarked  by  those  who  oppose  the  doc- 
trine of  universal  salvation,  that  if  God  is  the  Saviour  of 
all  men,  then  there  is  no  difference  between  the  saint 
and  the  sinner,  the  believer  and  unbeliever.  Those  who 
make  this  remark,  seem  to  forget,  that  while  God  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  he  is  also  said  to  be 
espicialli)  the  Saviour  of  the  believer.     Though  it  if 


NATURE  OF   SALVATIOW.  161 

irue,  that  God  is  the  Savioar  of  all,  yet  a  little  more 
attention  would  teach  you,  that  all  along,  in  Scripture, 
there  is  a  salvation  held  forth  as  the  special  property  of 
the  believer,  in  which  the  unbeliever  can  have  no  part 
or  lot;  and  though  all  shall  be  saved  with  an  everlasting 
salvation,  yet  the  believer  alone  can  enjoy  this  special 
salvation. 

1.  The  believer  is  saved  from  sin,  "  the  direst  foe  of 
man." 

The  prophet  spoke  truly  when  he  said, "  Know  there- 
fore and  understand  that  it  is  an  evil  and  bitter  thing, 
that  thou  hast  forsaken  the  Lord  thy  God."  No  man  is 
more  to  be  pitied  than  the  bold  transgressor  of  the  laws 
of  God.  "  There  is  no  peace,  sailh  my  God,  to  the 
wicked."  The  path  in  which  he  walks  is  beset  with 
ills  on  every  side,  and  if  perchance  he  finds  a  flowery 
spot,  it  is  but  the  green  sod  beneath  which  slumbers  the 
earthquake  and  the  storm;  and  if  there  are  roses  around 
him,  he  may  pluck  them,  indeed,  but  his  limbs  will  be 
torn  and  bleeding,  with  the  thorns  that  hedge  them  round. 
Such  is  sin,  and  to  be  saved  from  its  power,  is  a  boon  more 
desirable  than  all  the  riches  of  earth,  or  the  honors  of  a 
fading  world.  This  salvation  is  wrought  upon  the  be- 
liever by  faith.  His  name  was  "  called  Jesus,  because  he 
should  save  his  people  from  their  sins."  The  doctrines 
taught,  and  the  examples  presented  in  the  gospel,  are 
such,  that  faith  works  by  love,  and  purifies  the  heart,  and 
makes  man  holy  as  God  is  holy.  "I  say  unto  you,  love 
your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefuUy  use  you 
and  persecute  you,"  is  the  constant  teaching  of  the  doc- 
trine, the  precept,  and  the  example  of  Christ.  Hence  it 
is  evident,  that  the  man  who  receives  into  his  heart  this 
fa'.vh,  copies  the  examples,  practices  the  precepts,  and 
14* 


i62  NATURE   OF   SALVATJON. 

cherishes  ,he  spirit  of  Jesus,  is  saved  from  sin  and  atl  its 
woes.  Tiiis  is  the  special  salvation  of  the  believer. 
And  to  this  salvation,  all  that  numerous  class  of  pas- 
sages refer,  which  speak  of  being  washed  and  purified 
by  the  faith  of  Christ.  By  this  salvation,  Christ  came 
"  to  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good 
works."  Salvation  from  sin,  is  the  first  item  in  the 
special  salvation  of  the  believer,  and  this  is  a  conditional 
salvation,  depending  upon  the  condition  of  faith  and  re- 
pentance ;  and  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned,  it  is  not 
universal,  but  limited  in  extent. 

2.  The  believer  is  saved  from  ignorance  of  God  and 
his  character. 

Men  by  nature  know  not  God,  and  though  to  the 
mind  that  has  been  enlightened  with  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  "  the  invisible  things  of  him  from 
the  creation  of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made,"  yet  it  was  never  in 
the  power  of  the  unaided  wisdom  of  this  world,  to  ob- 
tain that  true  knowledge  of  God  which  is  life  eternal. 
Man,  without  a  revelation,  could  see  in  the  works  of  na- 
ture around  him  evidences  of  a  power  more  energetic 
than  the  arm  of  mortals;  but  whether  that  power  ex- 
isted in  the  person  of  a  faithful  friend,  or  an  implacable 
enemy,  was  a  question  that  he  could  not  solve.  True, 
the  sun  shone,  as  now,  upon  the  evil  and  the  good,  and 
the  rain  descended  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust,  as  evi- 
dence of  the  divine  benignity;  and  when  man  looked  at 
these  tokens  of  goodness,  he  hoped  that  God  was  good. 
But  when  the  thunder  uttered  its  voice  in  the  mountains, 
or  the  earthquake  rocked  the  plains,  and  the  tempest 
howled  in  fury  around,  and  seemed  ready  to  mingle, 
"  heaven,  earth,  and  sea,"  then  fear  took  the  place  of 
hope,  and  dread  forebodings  came  over  the  soul,  and 


NATURE    OF   SALVATION.  163 

destroyed  its  peace.  Then  it  was,  that  "  fear  made  her 
devils,  and  weak  hope  her  gods,"  and  the  elements  be- 
came invested  with  all  the  terrors  that  imagination 
could  invent.  Then,  false  gods  were  created  in  every 
grove,  and  mountain;  and  altars  were  reared  in  every 
hill  and  dale,  and  besidi^  every  stream  that  flowed. 
Then,  the  fires  of  Tophet  were  kindled,  and  the  altars 
of  Baal  ran  down  with  the  gore  of  babes  and  sucklings, 
which  were  slain  to  placate  the  wrath,  or  secure  the 
favor  of  some  idol  divinity,  whose  supposed  existence 
was  a  bitter  curse,  diffusing  misery,  deep  and  dreadful 
misery  through  all  the  life  of  the  worshipper. 

Such  was,  and  such  is  the  effect  of  ignorance  of  God, 
and  from  all  this  the  believer  in  Christ  is  saved.  It  was 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  tore  away  the  veil  which  had  so 
long  obscured  the  face  of  the  "  excellent  glory,"  and  re- 
vealed the  "  king  m  his  beauty,"  as  the  kind  friend,  and 
the  everlasting  Father  of  the  human  race.  By  faith,  the 
believer  looks  upward  to  God  as  the  holiest  and  best  of 
all;  and  though  storms  and  tempests  may  be  around 
about  him,  he  knoweth  that  there  is  one,  that  rideth 
upon  the  storm,  and  orders  all  things  well.  In  him,  he 
sees  his  Father,  and  he  believes  that  he  will  never  leave 
nor  forsake  him;  but  that  his  strong  arm,  which  is 
never  shortened  that  it  cannot  save,  will  be  made  bare 
in  his  defence,  to  deliver,  to  bless,  and  to  save.  Believ- 
ing thus,  the  soul  enters  into  rest,  and  the  mind  is  filled 
with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  This  is  that 
special  salvation,  in  another  of  its  items,  which  it  is  the 
privilege  of  the  believer  in  Christ  alone  to  enjoy. 

3.  The  believer  is  saved  from  the  bondage  of  the 
fear  of  death. 

Without  the  gospel  man  knows  nothing  of  the  future. 
Before  /he  advent  of  Christ,  darkness  shrouded  in  im- 


164  NATUEK   OF   SALVATION. 

penetrable  gloom  all  beyond  the  grave  Death  was 
abroad  in  the  earth,  in  "gorgon  terrors  clail,"and  before 
him  all  that  was  fair,  and  beautiful,  and  strong,  in  hu- 
manity, withered  and  died  as  the  flower  that  is  cut 
down  and  fadeth  before  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  behind 
him  were  the  bones  of  nations  that  had  died,  and  "  be- 
hold the  sinews  were  wasted,  and  the  bones  were  ex- 
ceedingly dry."  "If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again?"  Avas 
a  question  which  no  man  could  answer.  Or  if  it  was 
answered  at  all  by  man,  the  very  answer  became  a  more 
fruitful  source  of  misery,  than  even  the  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty of  the  question  itself  Some  of  the  heathen 
philosophers  invented  and  endeavored  to  support  the 
doctrine  of  the  soul's  immortality,  but  they  soon  coupled 
il  with  doctrines  of  future  wo,  which  made  it  worse  by 
far  than  the  gloom  of  annihilation.  They  indeed  taught 
an  immortal  existence,  but  to  the  greater  part  of  the 
human  family  it  was  an  existence  of  torment  unutterable, 
to  be  dreaded  as  a  curse,  rather  than  sought  as  a  rich 
and  valuable  blessing. 

Christ  came  to  open  up  a  pathAvay  through  the  dark 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  to  point  the  eye  of 
faith  to  that  better  and  happier  land,  "  where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest."  He 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light,  and  demonstrated 
by  his  own  resurrection  from  the  dead,  that  man  shall 
rise  triumphant  from  the  spoiler's  power,  and  bloom  with 
unfading  youth  in  the  paradise  of  his  God. 

Here  the  poor  Pagan  learns  to  cast  his  idols  and  his 
temples  to  the  moles  and  the  bats,  and  to  rejoice  in  that 
truth  which  giveth  life  to  the  world.  By  faith  in  this, 
the  poor  mortal  that  trembles  in  view  of  the  dark  gulf, 
where  the  ashes  of  a  universe  are  scattered  by  the  winds 
of  time,  and  who  weeps  over  the  valley  of  dry  bones; 


NATURE    OF   SALVATION.  165 

is  saved  from  all  his  fears,  for  he  sees  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  moving  upon  the  valley,  and  believes  that  even  the 
dry  bones  shall  live.  By  faith  in  this,  the  trembling 
mortal  who  fanitly  hopes  for  a  heaven  of  joy,  but  more 
dreadfully  fears  a  burning  hell  of  endless  wo,  for  him- 
self or  his  children,  is  saved  from  his  doubts  and  fears, 
and  taught  to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  death  and 
hell  shall  be  destroyed,  and  all  created  humanity  shall 
be  redeemed  froui  sorrow,  and  ransomed  from  the  grave, 
and  shall  dwell  in  the  fulness  of  eternal  and  unsullied 
joy.  This  is  the  special  salvation  of  the  believer  in 
another  of  its  items. 

And  here  I  leave  this  part  of  my  subject,  with  the 
simple  remark,  that  the  salvation  of  which  I  have  been 
speaking,  is  spoken  of  in  the  scripture  all  along  as  con- 
ditional. This  is  the  salvation  which  is  spoken  of  as 
dependent  upon  faith  and  repentance.  This  is  the  sal- 
vation which  man  is  exhorted  to  "work  out,"  with 
which  he  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and  which  he 
that  believeth  not  cannot  enjoy.  It  is  confined  alone  to 
the  believer,  and  is  set  forth  as  a  thing  for  which  man 
should  labour  perseveringly,  as  for  a  treasure  more  val- 
uable than  aught  that  the  world  can  afford.  The  great 
cause  of  error  in  the  world  is,  that  professors  of  Chris- 
tianity do  not  bear  in  mind  this  special  salvation ;  but 
they  apply  the  term  salvation  almost  exclusively  to  a 
future  world,  and  therefore  contend  that  that  is  con- 
ditional which  depends  alone  upon  the  will,  purpose  and 
power  of  God.  Whereas  the  only  salvation  that  de- 
pends at  all  upon  human  agency,  is,  that  special  salva- 
tion which  is  wrought  in  the  believer  here  on  earth. 

11.  I  come  to  speak  of  that  salvation  which  is  for  all 
men. 

And  here  I  bej  to  remind  you,  that  it  is  no  more  cer- 


166  NATURE   OF  SALVATION. 

tain  that  God  is  especially  the  Saviour  of  the  believer, 
than  that  he  is  positively  the  Saviour  of  all  men.  Paul 
trusted  in  the  living  God,  who  was  the  Saviour  of  all 
men,  and  ihe  fact  that  he  is  especially  the  Saviour  of 
the  believer,  does  not  abate  one  fraction  from  the  truth, 
that  he  is  the  Saviour  of  all.  I  notice  this  particularly 
because  the  enemies  of  Universalism  are  frequently 
heard  insisting-  upon  the  last  clause  of  the  text,  as  if  it 
had  some  magic  power  to  limit  or  contradict  the  first 
clause.  When  we  say  that  God  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
men,  the  reply  almost  unifornaly  is,  yes,  but  you  should 
remember  that  the  text  says,  that  he  is  especially  the 
Saviour  of  those  that  believe.  Very  well,  and  what 
then?  Because  the  last  pan  of  the  text  says,  he  is  es- 
pecially the  Saviuur  of  the  believer,  are  we  to  conclude 
that  ihe^r^^  part  is  false,  and  that  he  is  not  the  Saviour 
of  all  men,  but  only  of  believers  ?  This  word  especially 
is  so  much  pressed  into  the  service  of  a  partial  faith, 
that  I  must  give  it  a  passing  notice,  and  if  I  borrow  an 
illustration  it  will  not  be  the  less  useful.  The  idea  is, 
that  this  word  limits  the  salvation  of  Gcd  to  believers 
alone.  Now  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy  saying,  "  The  cloak 
that  I  left  with  thee  at  Troas,  bring  with  thee  when 
thou  comest,  and  the  books,  but  especially  the  parch- 
ment." There  is  precisely  as  much  reason  in  saying, 
that  Paul  did  not  want  the  cloak  and  the  books,  because 
he  said,  ''■especially  the  parchment,"  as  there  is  in  say- 
ing, that  God  is  not  the  Saviour  of  any  but  believers, 
because  the  text  says  especially  of  them  that  believe; 
and  if  I  tell  y.^u,  that  Paul  wanted  both  the  cloak  and 
the  books,  you  ought  to  object  at  once,  and  remind  me 
that  he  said  he  especially  wanted  the  parchment.  I 
kntAV  he  said  so,  but  what  then?  Does  thai  prove  that 
he  wanted  nothing  else  ?     By  no  means.    So  in  the  text. 


NATURE   OF   SALVATION.  J  67 

The  fact  that  God  is  said  to  be  the  Saviour,  "  especially 
of  those  thai  believe,"  has  no  effect  at  all  upon  the  pre- 
vious and  positive  assertion  tha^  he  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
men. 

But  the  question  comes  up,  in  what  sense  is  God  the 
Saviour  of  all  men  ?  Or  what  are  the  evils  from  which 
he  saves  them  ?  I  answer,  from  the  power  of  death  and 
tne  darkness  of  the  grave,  through  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead.  This  salvation  is  for  all,  the  saint  and  the 
sinner,  the  believer  and  the  unbeliever.  So  the  Saviour 
said,  "Of  all  the  Father  hath  given  me  I  will  lose 
nothing,  but  will  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last  day."  So 
also  the  Apostle  said,  "  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 

This  salvation  is  unconditional,  and  is  uniformly  sc 
represented  in  the  scriptures.  Humau  agency  cannot 
effect  it,  nor  does  it,  or  can  it  depend  upon  any  thing 
that  man  can  do,  or  believe,  or  upon  the  strength  of  man 
in  any  sense  of  the  word.  Go  to  the  tombs,  and  ask 
the  sleeping  dead  if  they  can  raise  themselves  from  their 
slumbers  ?  and  there  will  come  up  a  silent  voice,  saying 
that  there  man's  boasted  strength  is  turned  to  weakness 
and  he  can  do  no  more.  Go  to  the  living,  and  ask  them 
if  they  have  power  to  give  life  to  the  dead?  and  they 
shall  tell  you  that  they  have  no  such  power. 

Well,  then,  if  man's  resurrection  from  the  dead  depends 
upon  God  alone,  and  no  human  power  can  effect  it ;  so 
must  the  staie  and  condition  of  man  depend  equally  upon 
God,  and  be  equally  beyond  the  reach  of  human  agency. 
Suppose  tor  instance,  a  man  should  set  himself  to  work 
and  attempt  to  get  himself  raised  up  from  the  dead 
with  four  arms  instead  of  two.  We  should  smile  at  the 
folly  of  the  man,  and  call  him  a  visionary  enthusiast, 
as  a  man  dest/Lute  oi  common  sense.     But  really,  is 


\(JS  NATURE    OF   SALVATION. 

there  any  thing  absolutely  more  absurd  in  the  supposi- 
tion, that  we  can  by  our  works  procure  a  couple  of 
bodily  organs  in  the  resurrection  ;  than  that  these  same 
works  can  procure  us  those  mental  qualifications  there, 
on  which  our  eternal  happiness  shall  depend  ?  Is  there 
in  reality  any  thing  more  preposterous  in  the  supposition 
that  God  has  made  our  corporeal  organization  in  the  re- 
surrection, dependent  upon  our  works,  than  in  the  idea, 
that  he  has  suspended  our  mental  or  moral  organization 
upon  these  works  ?  I  judge  not,  and  the  only  reason 
why  one  appears  more  absurd  than  the  other,  may  be 
found  in  the  fact,  that  one  is  the  countenance  of  an  old 
acquaintance,  while  the  other  is  that  of  a  stranger. 

The  truth  is,  that  man  can  by  his  faith  and  works  do 
something  toward  ameliorating  his  condition  here ;  but 
he  cannot  procure  his  resurrection  from  the  dead  ;  and 
if  he  cannot  procure  the  thing  itself,  much  less  can  he 
procure  any  modifications  of  it.  All  that  man  is,  and 
all  that  he  ca7i  he  in  the  resurrection,  he  must  owe  to 
God  alone;  his  feeble  works  cannot  reach  one  line  be- 
yond the  grave,  nor  can  they  make  one  hair  black  or 
white  in  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  That  resur- 
rection Itself  is  the  free  gift  of  God,  upon  which  man 
has  no  claim  whatever,  and  all  its  blessings  or  joys,  are 
also  as  perfectly  free  on  the  part  of  God,  and  equally 
unmerited  on  the  part  of  man.  "  The  trumpet  shall 
sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and 
we  shall  be  changed."  "  So  when  this  mortal  shall  put 
on  immortality,  and  this  corruptible  shall  put  on  incor- 
ruption,  then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that 
is  written,  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  Oh !  death 
where  is  thy  sting?  Oh!  grave  where  is  thy  victory! 
The  sting  of  death  is  sin;  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law. 
But  thanks  be  (not  to  us,  or  our  faith  or  works)  but  unto 


NATURE    OF   SALVATION.  J  HO 

God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lurd  Jesus 
Chnst.'- 

This  IS  the  salvation  which  God  has  prepared  for  a 
world,  and  in  this  sense  God  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men. 
Death  the  last  enemy  shall  be  destroyed,  and  man  shall 
be  saved  from  his  power.  And  it  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
that  this  salvation  is  never  spoken  of  as  depending 
upon  the  agency  of  man,  or  any  thing  else  but  the 
power  of  God.  "  He  shall  change  our  vile  body  that  it 
may  be  fashioned  like  unto  Christ's  glorious  body,"  and 
this  shall  be  done  by  "  the  working  of  that  mighty 
power  whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
himself." 

Brethren,  ''  be  ye  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the 
power  of  his  might,"  and  "  think  it  not  strange  concern- 
ing the  fiery  trials  that  are  to  try  you ;"  for  if  Paul  and 
the  early  disciples  "  labored  and  suffered  reproach  be- 
cause they  trusted  in  the  living  God,  who  was  the  Sa- 
viour of  all  men,  especially  of  them  that  believed,"  think 
not  that  ye  shall  escape  the  reproach  of  the  world,  if  ye 
trust  in  the  same  God.  But  in  the  midst  of  all  re- 
proaches, hold  fast  the  profession  of  your  faith  without 
wavering,  and  the  Lord  make  you  perfect  in  every  good 
word  and  w^rk. 
15 


i    >  REPENTANCE. 


SERMON   XII. 
REPENTANCE. 

*'  And  they  went  out,  and  preached  that  men  should  repent."    Mark  vl.  !& 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  subject  which  is  more  agitated 
m  the  religious  world  than  that  of  repentance.  It  is 
not  always  the  case,  however,  that  the  subject  upon 
which  most  is  said,  is  best  understood.  "  Conversion," 
"  regeneration,"  being  "  born  again,"  "  getting  religion," 
"  obtaining  a  hope,"  "  experiencing  a  change,"  are 
phrases  in  common  use,  and  they  are,  I  believe,  em- 
ployed as  about  synonymous  with  repentance  ;  and  yet^ 
if  you  were  to  ask  what  precise,  and  definite  idea  is  at- 
tached to  any  of  them,  I  imagine  it  would  be  somewhat 
difficult  to  obtain  a  very  satisfactory  answer.  They  are 
phrases,  used  in  a  vague  and  indefinite  sense,  to  denote 
something  that  can  be  felt,  but  cannot  be  explained. 
Certain  awful  fears  of  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God; 
some  horrible  feelings  of  despair,  succeeded  by  a  sud- 
den and  mysterious  burst  of  light  and  joy,  would  em- 
brace the  amount  of  the  meaning  of  these  terms  as  they 
are  generally  employed. 

That  the  doctrine  of  repentance  is  taught  in  the  Bible, 
no  man  can  doubt  for  a  moment ;  and  that  the  early 
disciples  made  it  a  somewhat  prominent  theme  of  their 
ministry,  is  evident  from  the  text;  for  when  they  were 
sent  out  on  their  mission  of  love  and  mercy,  the  histori- 
ttDL  says,  "  they  went  out,  and  preached  that  men  should 


REPENTANCE.  177i 

repent."  Such  being  the  importance  of  the  subject, 
and  such  the  general  confusion  of  ideas  in  relation  to  it, 
I  sh-all  make  it  the  business  of  this  discourse  to  explain 
the  nature  and  utility  of  repentance. 

In  relation  to  the  first  of  these  particulars,  the  nature 
of  repentance,  it  may  be  observed  that  it  is  not,  as  some 
suppose,  a  mere  sorrow  for  sin.  The  thief  who  is  de- 
tected, and  is  on  his  way  to  the  penitentiary,  may  be, 
and  doubtless  often  is,  very  sorry  that  he  committed  the 
crime;  but  that  is  not  repentance.  The  murderer,  on 
the  scaffold,  is  doubtless  very  sorry  that  he  murdered ; 
but  that  feeling  of  sorrow  is  very  far  from  true  repent- 
ance. So  a  man  may  become  alarmed  at  his  condition 
as  a  sinner.  He  may  be  told,  and  may  believe,  that  he 
is  exposed  to  the  curse  of  God,  and  that  he  is  every  mo- 
ment in  danger  of  the  deep  damnation  of  hell ;  and  from 
these  considerations  he  may  be  very  sorry  that  he  has 
sinned;  but  such  sorrow  as  this  has  little  to  do  with 
true  evangelical  repentance.  There  is  another,  and  a 
different  kind  of  sorroAv,  which  is  far  more  useful.  In 
these  cases  the  sorrow  is  selfish,  and  proceeds  from  a 
view  of  the  real  or  supposed  personal  evils  consequent 
upon  crime,  rather  than  from  a  conviction  of  the  ingrat- 
itude and  wrong  of  the  crime  itself.  In  such  a  casfe, 
the  thief  or  the  murderer  is  more  sorry  that  he  has  betn 
detected,  than  that  he  has  stolen  or  murdered,  and  ine 
sinner  regrets  more  that  he  must  go  to  hell  than  that  he 
has  sinned  against  heaven. 

But  there  is  a  soi/ow  which  is  concerned  in  repent- 
ance, which  ought  to  be  exercised  by  us  all.  It  pro- 
ceeds from  a  sense  of  guilt  itself,  rather  than  from  any 
view  of  punishment,  It  results  from  a  discovery  of  the 
great  and  abundant  goodness  of  God,  the  excellency  of 
his  law,  and  the  strong  and  immutable  obligations  we 


172  REPENTANCE. 

aie  under  to  ove,  serve  and  obey  God.  The  man  who 
exercises  ihis  sorrow,  mourns  for  his«in,  on  account  o\ 
its  own  guilt  and  the  wickedness  of  the  thing  itself. 
He  sees  thai  it  is  wrong,  and  though  God  has  not 
threatened  to  punish  him  at  all  for  it,  he  would  not 
grieve  the  less  on  that  account.  This  is  called  in  the 
scriptures  "  Godly  sorrow."  But  even  this  is  not  re- 
pentance. The  apostle  says,  "  Godly  sorrow  xoorketh 
repentance,"  and  of  course  even  Godly  sorrow  cannot 
be,  of  itself,  that  repentance  which  it  worketh.  It  is 
but  one  of  the  means  which  are  useful  in  bringing  about 
repentance;  but  it  is  not  repentance  itself. 

Repentance,  as  taught  in  the  Bible,  is  no  more  nor  less 
than  an  actual  turning  from  the  love  and  practice  of  sin 
to  the  love  and  practice  of  virtue.  I  have  no  faith  at 
all  in  a  repentance  which  leaves  a  man  as  bad  as  it 
found  him,  or  which  affects  him  only  on  the  sabbath  or 
in  the  church.  If  a  man  has  been  unjust,  and  he  learns 
to  hale  injustice,  and  turns  from  its  practice  to  follow 
justice,  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men ;  that  man 
has  repented.  If  a  man  has  been  a  drunkard,  and  turns 
from  his  drunkenness  to  the  love  and  practice  of  tem- 
perance, that  man  has  repented.  And  so  of  any  and 
all  the  vices  that  degrade  humanity.  To  repent  is  to 
turn  from  them,  and  commence  and  continue  the  prac- 
tice of  righteousness.  It  is  to  "  break  off  our  sins  by 
righteousness,  and  our  iniquities  by  turning  to  the 
Lord."  This  is  the  Bible  doctrine  of  repentance,  and 
nothing  short  of  this  is  worthy  the  name. 

I  regret  to  say  that  repentance,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  at  this  day,  has  little  or  no  connexion  with  the 
practice  of  man,  in  the  every  day  business  of  life.  It  is 
a  matter  for  the  sabbath  and  for  the  church,  rather  thao 
for  the  store,  the  workshop,  the  counting-house,  or  the 


REPENTANCE.  173 

market-place.  ^  shall  be  best  uncle  rstood  by  taking  a 
single  case,  as  an  illustration.  Here  is  a  man  who  is 
a,  merchant,  and  though  he  is  not  an  outrageous  sinner, 
yet  he  loves  money  like  most  men,  and  is  not  over  and 
above  scrupulous  about  the  means  of  obtaining  it.  He 
will  recommend  an  article,  which  he  wishes  to  sell, 
considerably  above  what  truth  will  justify,  and  if  he 
can  make  a  good  bargain  by  using  a  little  deception,  he 
does  not  hesitate  to  do  so.  He  will  overreach  an  igno- 
rant customer,  and  take  from  him  more  than  justice 
would  give.  He  sometimes  grinds  the  face  of  the  poor, 
with  whom  he  deals,  and  is  not  particular  in  regard  to 
the  wants  or  rights  of  others.  I  have  known  this  man 
for  some  time,  and  finally  in  a  lime  of  excitement  a  mu- 
tual friend  comes  to  me  with  much  apparent  satisfac- 
tion, and  informs  me  that  this  man  has  repented.  My 
reply  is,  I  am  glad  of  it,  for  he  certainly  needed  repent- 
ance, as  much  as  some  others  of  my  acquaintance. 
But  really,  sir,  I  have  not  seen  the  evidence  of  his  re- 
pentance. 1  have  been  in  his  store  frequently  and  have 
been  acquainted  with  his  practice,  and  truly  I  do  not 
see  but  he  continues  to  do  about  the  same  that  he  has 
done  heretofore.  He  appears  as  anxious  to  make  a 
good  bargain  as  ever,  and  all  his  operations  are  carried 
on  upon  the  same  principles  as  formerly.  True,  I  have 
noticed  that  his  countenance  has  appeared  a  little  elon- 
gated of  late,  and  I  thought  perhaps  he  might  have 
met  with  some  loss  that  troubled  him  a  little.  I  have 
also  noticed,  that  he  passed  by  me  rather  coolly ;  and 
in  one  or  two  instances,  when  a  very  large  story  was  to 
be  told,  I  have  known  him  step  aside  and  let  a  clerk  tell 
It  for  him.  But  except  a  little  more  gloom  of  counte- 
nance, and  some  reserve  of  manner,  I  have  seen  no.  par- 
ticular change  in  the  man.  Is  it  not  possible  that  you 
15* 


174  REPENTANCE. 

arc  m'.staken  about  the  fact  of  his  having  repented  1 ' 
Oh,  no,  He  certainly  has  repented,  for  I  was  present 
when  he  ^^ got  religion.''''  He  went  to  our  church,  and 
during  a  powerful  sermon  he  was  struck  "  under  con- 
viction," came  forward  for  the  prayers  of  God's  pecple, 
and  in  due  time  was  converted,  and  he  is  now  a  membei 
of  the  oliurch.  Very  well,  I  grant  all  that,  the  man 
might  have  been  alarmed,  and  no  doubt  he  felt  much 
better  when  the  alarm  had  subsided;  but  the  church  is 
the  last  place  in  the  world  any  man  should  go,  to  ascer- 
tain who  has,  and  who  has  not  repented.  I  should  be 
pleased  to  know  what  improvement  you  have  seen  in 
the  man's  subsequent  conduct  which  leads  you  to  the 
belief  that  he  has  repented  1  Why,  he  has  been  a 
regular  attendant  upon  the  Gospel  ordinances  every  sab- 
bath. He  has  prayed  in  his  family  every  day,  and  is 
active  in  seeking  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  sinners 
around  him.  All  this  he  has  done,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  has  repented. 

All  this  may  be  very  conclusive  to  some  minds,  but  I 
must  have  another  and  a  different  kind  of  evidence  be- 
fore I  can  say  that  all  my  doubts  are  removed.  The 
man  may  be  very  punctual  at  church,  and  very  devout, 
so  far  as  appearances  are  concerned,  while  there;  and 
at  the  same  time,  be  a  very  bad  man  when  out  of 
church.  He  may  pray  to  be  seen  of  men,  and  his  very 
pfayers  be  designed  as  a  cloak  for  iniquity.  He  may 
manifest  a  great  anxiety  to  save  the  souls  of  sinners^ 
but  I  want  to  see  him  treat  their  bodies  a  little  bettei 
before  I  can  allow  that  the  genuineness  of  his  repent, 
ance  is  placed  beyond  ail  question.  Has  he  ever  said., 
as  one  of  old,  "  Lo  !  the  half  of  ray  goods  I  give  to  the ' 
poor,  and  if  I  have  taken  any  thing  unlawfully  from  any 
man,  I  res  to/ e  him  fourfold."     Where  is  the  evidence 


REPENTANCE.  'l76 

that  lie  either  loves  justice  better,  or  practises  it  more 
than  formerly  ?  Where  is  the  evidence  that  he  is  a  bet- 
ter husband  and  father ;  a  more  kind  friend  or  a  better 
"itizen,  or  even  a  more  honest  man  ?  Where  is  the  man 
who  will  say  of  him  "  behold  this  man  has  returned  to 
me  the  gold  which  he  unjustly  took  from  my  purse  1"" 
Where  are  the  poor,  the  widows  and  the  fatherless,  that 
have  been  benefited  by  his  repentance,  and  can  say 
now  what  they  never  said  of  him  before,  "  behold  our 
friend  and  benefactor,  who  fed  us  when  we  were  hungry, 
and  clothed  us  when  we  were  naked  ?"  Nay,  where 
are  the  men  of  business  who  will  point  to  his  store,  and 
say,  "  there  lives  the  man  who  in  former  times  would 
cheat  us  in  a  trade,  but  he  has  repented  and  is  now  an 
honest  man.  Let  us  turn  in  hither  and  buy,  for  he  will 
not  deceive  us;  his  words  are  faithful  and  true,  and  no 
guile  is  found  upon  his  tongue." 

These  are  the  evidences  of  repentance,  and  any  thmg 
short  of  this  is  but  a  spurious  cheat,  as  far  from  the  true 
evangelical  repentance  of  the  Bible  as  the  east  is  from 
the  west.  I  want  a  repentance  which  makes  a  man 
honest  in  his  dealings,  faithful  and  true  to  his  word,  kind 
and  charitable  to  the  poor,  forgiving  toward  his  enemies 
and  benevolent  in  his  feelings  and  acts  to  alL  Any  thing 
that  falls  short  of  these  effects  I  must  reject  as  unworthy 
the  name  of  repentance. 

I  may  remark  further,  that  repentance  to  be  genuine 
and  lasting  must  proceed  from  proper  motives.  Of  these 
motives  however,  man  cannot  judge  infallibly,  for  we 
can  see  only  the  outward  act,  but  cannot  penetrate  the 
heart.  A  man  may  refrain  from  stealing  because  he  is 
afraid  of  the  penitentiary,  and  still  be  a  thief  at  heart, 
and  scarcely  less  guilty  than  if  he  had  actually  laid  his 
haid  unlawfully  upcn  his  neighbour's  goods.    So  a  maA 


176  REPENTANCE. 

may  correct  some  of  the  irre2:ulantics  of  his  life  because 
he  is  afraid  of  hell  or  the  Devil,  and  still  remain  as  much 
in  love  with  sin  as  ever,  but  this  is  not  genuine  repent- 
ance.  . 

The  Apostle  preached  "repentance  toward  God,"  not 
towards  hell,  or  the  prince  of  Darkness;  and  I  confess 
I  have  little  confidence  in  a  repentance  which  proceeds 
from  fear  of  punishment  of  any  kind.  The  repentance 
of  the  Gospel  has  God  for  its  object,  and  the  true  peni- 
tent thinks  little  or  nothing  of  the  punishment  that  is 
due  him  for  his  sins.  His  eye  is  fixed  on  God  and  he 
sees  in  him  so  much  of  purity  and  goodness  that  he  ab- 
hors himself,  and  repents  in  dust  and  ashes.  He  feels 
that  he  has  sinned  against  a  Father's  love,  which  has 
followed  him  all  his  life  long,  and  he  loathes  sin  for  its 
own  sake,  and  turns  from  it  with  disgust  to  run  with 
cheerful  alacrity  in  the  path  of  duty. 

These  are  in  brief,  my  views  of  repentance.  Rela- 
tive to  the  long  agitated  question,  whether  repentance  is 
the  work  of  God's  irresistible  power,  or  of  the  agency 
of  man,  or  of  both  conjoined,  I  have  but  little  to  say. 
It  may  suffice  to  remark,  that  repentance  is  as  much  the 
work  of  the  creature,  as  any  other  act  of  a  man's  life. 
Man  repents  as  he  does  every  other  act,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  motives.  Take  away  all  motives  from  man  and 
he  will  neither  repent  nor  do  any  thing  else. 

Suppose,  for  the  sake  of  an  illustration,  a  man  sees  a 
quantity  of  gold  in  such  a  situation  that  he  can  steal  it 
and  appropriate  it  to  his  own  use.  He  is  the  creature 
of  infirmity,  the  temptation  is  strong,  and  he  finally 
lakes  that  which  is  not  his  own.  Now  in  that  act  there 
is  evidently  no  need  of  a  special  and  immediate  inter- 
position of  the  irresistible  power  of  God.  On  the  con- 
trary the  motives  presented  are  fully  sufficieat  lo  account 


REPENTANCE.  177 

for  the  act.  After  he  has  obtained  the  gold  he  begins 
to  reflect  seriously  upon  his  ways.  He  sees  that  he  has 
violated  one  of  those  sacred  principles  on  which  the 
happiness  and  even  the  existence  of  civil  society  depend. 
He  feels  that  he  has  perhaps  beggared  a  friend,  disgraced 
himself  and  family,  and  above  all  that  he  has  sinned 
against  God,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  years  of  remorse 
and  misery.  All  these  things  operate  as  motives  and 
press  it  heavily  upon  him,  to  return  his  ill  gotten  gain, 
and  forsake  his  sin.  He  finally  resolves  to  return  the 
gold  to  its  owner,  and  carries  that  resolution  into  effect, 
and  henceforward  he  walks  in  the  way  of  honesty  and 
justice.  That  w^as  repentance,  and  it  was  as  much  the 
act  of  that  man's  agency  as  any  other  act  of  his  life. 
There  was  no  more  need  of  the  special  and  irresistible 
power  of  God  to  induce  that  man  to  return  the  money, 
than  there  was  to  make  him  steal  it  in  the  first  instance. 
In  both  cases  he  acted  as  man  always  acts  under  the  in- 
fluence of  motives,  and  these  motives  are  in  my  judge- 
ment fully  suflScient  to  account  for  the  whole  matter, 
without  the  necessity  of  bringing  in  a  special  interposi- 
tion of  the  power  of  God. 

I  do  not  deny  the  agency  of  God  in  the  work  of  re- 
pentance nor  in  any  thing  else,  for  it  is  "  in  him  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being."  I  joyfully  recognise  the 
evidence  of  hxs  presence  and  power  in  every  breath  that 
moves  our  heaving  lungs ;  and  I  know  that  without  him 
we  can  do  nothing.  But  the  idea  I  wish  to  impress  upon 
your  minds  is,  that  God  in  the  economy  of  his  grace,  as 
in  every  thing  else,  works  by  means.  His  gospel  is  the 
instrument  of  working  repentance,  and  when  its  vast 
power  is  applied,  it  is  able  to  do  the  work,  and  hence 
there  is  no  more  need  of  a  special  interposition  of  his 
power  to  produce  repentance,  than  ill  bringing  about  any 


78  RE^E^  tance. 

other  of  Jhe  plans  of  his  gracious  providence,  the  means 
of  which  he  has  already  appointed. 

These  being  my  views  of  that  matter,  I  lay  them  be- 
fore you  in  all  frankness,  because  I  would,  if  I  could,  per- 
suade men  to  repent,  and  strip  them  of  that  excuse  w  hich 
is  so  often  heard,  that  they  cannot  repent,  for  repentance 
must  be  wrought  by  the  power  of  God,  and  they  must 
wait  for  him  to  work.  I  tell  you  that  you  have  the  same 
ability  to  repent  that  you  have  to  do  any  thing  else,  and 
it  is  high  time  that  every  one  of  us  should  set  about 
that  work  in  sober  earnest,  with  a  full  determination 
that  depending  upon  God,  as  we  should  in  all  cases,  we 
will  subdue  every  unhallowed  passion,  forsake  every 
known  sin,  and  practice  every  known  virtue. 

I  have  already  said  that  repentance  consists  not  in 
feelings  alone,  but  in  an  actual  turning  from  the  practice 
of  sin  to  the  practice  of  virtue.  It  may  be  proper  to 
show  that  this  is  a  scriptural  view  of  the  subject.  You 
will  doubtless  recollect  that  our  blessed  Saviour  intro- 
duced the  case  of  two  servants  as  illustrations  of  the 
duty  of  repentance.  They  were  both  commanded  to 
do  a  certain  service.  One  said,  I  go,  and  went  not.  But 
the  other  said,  I  go  not,  and  afterward  he  repented  and 
went.  He  did  not  repent  of  what  he  had  said  and  still 
refused  to  obey,  but  he  repented  and  went  and  performed 
the  work,  and  he  was  justified,  while  the  other  was  con- 
demned. Now  this  approval  is  good  evidence  that  Jesus 
considered  that  repentance,  and  that  only  as  genuine, 
which  consisted  in  doing  the  works  that  God  commanded. 

But  I  need  not  dwell  at  greater  length  on  this  part 
of  the  subject,  for  I  presume  I  am  already  under- 
stood. I  say  yet,  once  more,  good  works,  of  an  un- 
doubted and  undying  character  ;  works  of  justice,  kind- 
ness,  benevolence,  charity,   and   truth,  are    the    only 


KEPENTANCl,.  179 

evidence  of  genuine  repentance  ;  and  to  these  must  the 
appeal  be  nnade,  if  we  would  determine  with  any  toler- 
able degree  of  certainty,  whether  a  man  has,  or  has  not 
repented. 

It  may  be  said,  as  it  has  often  been  said,  that  men 
may  be  good  moral  men,  from  interested  motives ;  trom 
a  love  of  popularity,  or  a  good  name.  My  answer  is, 
that  the  thing  is  possible,  but  that  is  not  my  business.  1 
cannot  judge  men's  motives  in  all  cases.  The  Saviour 
says,  "  ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits."  "  Grapes 
do  not  grow  on  thorns,  nor  figs  on  thistles."  Hence, 
when  I  find  the  good  fruit,  I  am  bound  to  admit  that  the 
tree  is  good  also. 

I  come  now  to  speak  of  the  utility  of  repentance. 

What  benefits  will  result  to  us  from  an  exercise  of 
true  repentance  ?  Will  repentance  save  us  from  endless 
wo  in  another  world  ?  I  answer,  no — for  the  best  of  all 
possible  reasons;  that  in  the  economy  of  God's  govern- 
ment and  grace,  man  never  stood  exposed  to  any  such 
calamity;  and  it  is  idle  to  say  that  repentance,  or  any 
thing  else,  can  save  us  from  something  of  which  we 
were  never  in  danger.  When  it  shall  have  been  proved 
that  God  has  placed  man  in  danger  of  such  a  fate,  it 
will  be  time  enough  to  talk  of  being  saved  from  it  by 
repentance.  As  that  has  not  yet  been  proved,  we  will 
not  enter  further  upon  a  discussion  of  that  matter. 

Will  repentance  secure  for  us  the  joys  of  a  blessed  im- 
mortality in  heaven  ?  I  answer,  no — for  that  was  secured 
by  the  immutable  promise  of  him  that  cannot  lie,  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  is  the  free  gift  of  God, 
bestowed  upon  man,  not  as  the  reward  of  works,  but  as 
the  free  bounty  of  a  benevolent  and  good  Creator.  Does 
any  man  hope  for  a  state,  of  endless  bliss  on  account  of 
his  repentance  or  works  ?    If  so,  he  may  for  ever  rest 


180  llEFENTAXCK. 

assured  that  his  is  any  thing  else  but  the  hc/)e  of  a 
Christian.  God  has  laid  in  Zion  a  corner  stone,  tried 
and  precious,  and  upon  thai  our  hopes  must  be  reared, 
or  they  will  fail  in  the  day  of  trial.  That  stone  is  Christ, 
who  rose  triumphant  over  the  power  of  death,  and 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light;  thus  giving  us 
hope  that  as  he  lives,  so  shall  we  live  also.  "  Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid,"  and 
he  that  rejects  this  foundation  to  build  upon  his  own 
works,  will  find  to  his  cost,  that  he  is  building  a  totter- 
ing Babel  that  cannot  abide  the  wind  or  the  storm. 

But  the  objector  is  ever  ready  to  ask,  if  your  doctrine 
is  true,  and  we  are  all  to  be  saved  at  last,  what  is  the 
use  of  repentance  ?  I  answer  plainly  to  the  point.  Re- 
pentance will  give  to  man,  in  all  cases, 

<'  Th>e  soul's  calm  sunshine,  and  the  heartfelt  joy." 

It  will  make  a  man  calm,  contented,  and  happy  in  life, 
resigned  and  joyful  in  sickness,  and  triumphant  in  death. 
It  will  save  a  man  here,  from  those  dreadful  miseries 
that  are  always  mingled  in  the  cup  of  wickedness. 
"  There  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked,  but 
they  are  as  the  troubled  ocean,  Avhose  waters  cast  up 
mire  and  dirt  continually."  He  that  repents  of  all  sin, 
and  walks  v/ith  obedient  footsteps  in  the  way  of  righte- 
ousness, is  saved  from  these  sorrows,  and  receives  as  the 
rich  reward  of  his  labor  that  perfect  peace  which  is  the 
inheritance  of  those,  and  those  only,  who  keep  the  law 
of  God.  Say  what  you  will  of  the  pleasures  of  the 
wicked,  with  the  Bible  and  the  experience  of  the  world 
before  me,  I  boldly  declare,  that  there  is  no  happy  man 
on  earth,  but  the  good  man.  He  lives  at  peace  with 
himself,  and  the  world.  He  enjoys  communion  with 
God,  and  the  spirits  of  the  just.    His  ways  are  ways  of 


REPENTANCE.  131 

pleasantness,  and  all  his  paths  are  peace.  He  fears  not 
the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness,  and  wasteth  af 
noonday,  for  God  is  with  him.  He  is  humble  in  pros- 
perity, peaceful  and  calm  in  adversity.  The  blessing  of 
him  that  was  ready  to  perish  comes  upon  him  while 
living,  and  at  last,  in  a  good  old  age,  like  a  shock  of  com 
fully  ripe,  he  is  gathered  to  his  fathers;  and  as  he  stands 
upon  the  brink  of  the  grave,  he  looks  back  upon  a  life 
well  spent,  without  a  sigji,  or  a  tear,  and  peacefully 
goes  down  to  the  tomb,  with  the  blessings  and  the 
benedictions  of  children  and  the  community  upon  hiS: 
memory. 

Is  there  no  good  in  all  this  ?  Is  there  nothing  in- 
virtue  itself  that  is  desirable,  that  man  should  love  it  for 
its  own  sake  ?  Or  is  man  so  far  gone,  that  he  must  h& 
considered  incapable  of  appreciating  that  which  is  lovely 
and  good,  and  to  be  brought  to  virtue  by  the  mercenary 
hope  of  an  extra  reward  in  another  world;  or  driven  to 
its  practice  by  the  slavish  fear  of  hell  ^nd  the  devil  ? 
Must  the  fear  of  that  "hangman's  whip,"  be  constantly 
before  our  eyes,  to  keep  us  in  awe,  that  we  curse  not 
God  to  his  face  ? 

Lay  another  world  altogether  out  of  the  question,  and 
see  if  you  canot  discover  any  motive  to  rej)entance.  Go 
to  the  drunkard,  and  mark  the  wreck  of  happiness  over 
which  he  mourns.  Behold  him  reeling  from  his  mid- 
night carousals  to  his  wretched  abode.  Mark  him  when 
the  effervescence  of  the  glass  is  gone,  and  in  moments 
of  calm  reflection,  he  sits  him  down  to  contemplate  his 
ways.  He  sees  the  tears  of  a  family  falling  around 
him,  and  feels  that  he  is  the  guilty  cause  of  their  woes; 
and  as  for  himself,  he  is  comfortless  and  poor,  and  must 
soon  go  down  to  that  grave,  ai  which  the  hand  of  affec- 
tion will  rear  no  stone  to  tell  of  its  mmate.  He  knows 
16 


182  REPENTANCE. 

that  he  is  whirling  with  fearful  haste,  doAvn  to  the  abodes 
of  death,  and  that  for  his  wife  and  children  naught  but 
poverty  remains.  Is  there  no  motive  for  him  to  repent? 
Would  it  do  no  good  for  him  to  dash  the  cup  from  his 
lips,  and  live  "soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 
world  ?"  Ah !  yes.  It  would  change  that  abode  of 
wretchedness  to  a  blooming  paradise  of  joy.  It  would 
dry  up  those  falling  tears,  and  give  to  the  penitent  him- 
self, firmness  of  body,  and  peace  of  mind,  that  he  can 
never  enjoy  while  engaged  in  the  practice  of  sin. 

The  same,  or  similar  remarks  will  apply  to  every 
species  and  form  of  sin ;  for  though  the  effects  of  this 
are  more  outward  and  visible  than  in  some  other  cases, 
they  are  not  more  bitter,  certain,  or  sure.  Disguise  it 
as  you  will,  all  sin  is  misery.  There  is  sorrow  jn  every 
cup  that  vice  presents  to  her  votaries.  She  may  mingle 
It  as  she  will,  to  make  it  sweet  to  the  taste ;  death  and 
misery  are  there,  and  when  drank,  it  will  be  worm- 
wood, gall  and  iitterness  in  the  system.  God  has  bound 
sin  and  misery  together  by  a  tie  that  no  man  can  put 
asunder,  and  he  that  practises  the  one  must  feel  the 
other. 

There  is  still  another  idea,  that  should  not  be  passed 
over.  The  joys  of  hope  in  the  Gospel  are  sweet,  and 
these  can  only  be  truly  enjoyed  by  the  man  who  repents 
of  sin  with  full  purpose  of  heart.  Men  may  speculate 
and  theorize  as  they  will;  but  the  truth  is,  there  is  such 
a  damning  power  in  sin,  that  it  will  always  prevent  the 
enjoyment  of  faith,  however  correctly  it  may  be  held  in 
.theory.  Suspicion  and  doubt  are  always  the  companions 
of  guilt.  "  The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth,  but 
the  righteous  are  as  bold  as  a  lion."  Fearful  forebodings 
of  the  future,  and  dark  and  dreadful  recollections  of  the 
past»  will  crowd  upon  the  mind  of  the  guilty,  and  though 


REPENTANCE.  183 

ne  may  lock  his  crimes  in  the  secrecy  of  his  own  heart, 
yet  in  the  darkness  of  the  silent  night,  they  -j*^ill  haunt 
him  as  ghosts  of  despair,  and  plant  thorns  in  the  pillow 
upon  which  he  vainly  strives  to  rest  his  weary  head. 
The  light  of  truth  may  shine  around  him,  but  it  has  no 
charms  for  him.  He  cannot  live  at  ease — he  cannot  die 
in  peace,  for  there  is  a  canker-worm  gnawing  at  the 
very  root  of  the  tree  of  happiness.  "  Repent,  then,  and 
be  converted  every  one  of  you,  that  your  sins  may  be 
blotted  out,  when  the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,"  and  through  all  coming 
life, 

"  Know  then  this  truth,  enough  for  man  to  know. 
That  virtue  alone  is  happiness  below.*' 


184  PAITB. 


SERMON   XIII. 

FAITH. 

•'  For  what  If  some  did  not  believe  7    Shall  their  unbelief  make  thra  faith  of 
God  without  effect  3"  Romans  iii.  3 

The  scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  everywhere 
insist  upon  the  necessity  of  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  So  frequently  is  faith  urged  upon  the  reader, 
.  that  even  the  tyro  in  Christian  knowledge  would  readi- 
ly inform  you  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  believe. 
But  the  precise  nature  and  utility  of  faith,  and  the  con- 
sequences of  unbelief,  are  subjects  not  so  generally  nor 
so  well  understood.  To  explain  and  illustrate  these 
points  shall  be  the  business  of  this  discourse,  and  with- 
out further  introductory  remarks,  I  come  to  that  work. 

I.  What  is  the  nature  of  Christian  faith? 

My  reply  is,  that  faith  is  the  assent  which  the  mind 
gives  to  the  truth  of  a  proposition,  from  the  force  of  real 
or  supposed  evidence,  presented  to  the  understanding, 
and  it  will  always  be  weak  or  strong,  in  proportion  as 
the  evidence  appears  to  be  conclusive  or  otherwise. 
Christian  faith  is  a  belief  in  the  mission  and  teachings 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  far  as  the  nature  of  the 
thing  itself  is  concerned,  it  differs  not  from  faith  in  any 
thing  else.  If  I  should  inform  you  that  I  had  recently 
seen  a  friend  of  yours,  you  would  be  likely  to  believe 
me.  That  belief  is  faith,  and  it  will  be  weak  or  strong 
in  jroportion  to  >  our  confidence  in  my  veracity.    Th« 


rAiTH.  186 

same  in  its  nature  is  faith  in  Christ.  The  same,  in 
fact,  is  all  faith,  and  the  only  imaginable  difference  in 
different  cases,  is  not  in  the  thing  itself,  bus  a  the  sub- 
jects upon  which  it  is  employed.  Christ  claims  to  be 
the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  the  divinely  appointed 
messenger  of  his  Father's  grace  and  truth,  and  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  world.  He  gives  you,  as  proof  that  he  is 
what  he  professes  to  be,  the  fulfilment  of  the  ancient 
promises  in  him,  and  appealing  to  his  works — to  the 
signs  and  miracles  and  wonders  that  God  wrought  by 
him,  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  and  to  his  triumphant 
resurrection  from  the  dead — he  shows  that  his  mission 
is  divine,  and  that  with  him  is  the  mighty  power  of 
God.  By  this  evidence  the  judgement  is  convinced,  and 
from  its  throne  gives  out  the  decision  :  "  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  This  is  faith,  and 
it  is  produced  by  the  same  means,  and  is  in  its  nature 
tfie  same  as  faith  exercised  upon  any  other  subject. 
The  evidence  of  these  miracles  is  conclusive;  the  rec- 
ord is  given  us  by  men  who  were  eye-witnesses,  and 
whose  characters  slander  itself  dare  not  assail.  With 
such  evidence  as  this,  men  may  believe  with  an  un- 
doubted faith,  and  there  is  no  more  need  of  a  miracle 
or  of  any  supernatural  agency  to  produce  faith  in  Christ, 
than  to  secure  faith  in  any  thing  else,  which  you  re- 
ceive on  the  strength  of  evidence. 

If  your  friend  informs  you  that  he  saw  a  man  perform 
a  certain  act,  you  can  believe  him  without  any  special 
interposition  of  divine  power.  So,  if  you  are  informed 
on  good  authority,  that  about  eighteen  hundred  years  ago, 
there  appeared  in  Judea  a  man  called  Jesus,  who  claim- 
ed to  be  sent  of  God,  and  sustained  his  claims  by  signs 
and  miracles,  and  by  his  own  resurrection  from  the 
dead;  if  the  historians  inform  you  that  they  were  with 
16* 


i86  FAITH. 

him,  and  saw  the  lame  walk,  the  blind  see,  the  deal 
hear,  and  the  dead  come  forth  from  the  grave  at  his 
word ;  that  they  knew  him  well,  and  saw  him  expire 
upon  the  cross,  and  were  the  eye-witnesses  of  his  resur- 
rection; you  can  believe  that  also;  and  there  is  no 
more  need  of  a  special  interposition  of  God's  spirit  to 
produce  faith  in  one  case  than  the  other.  The  one  is 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  other  is  faith  in 
your  friend,  and  both  are  produced  by  the  force  of  evi- 
dence. 

I  make  these  remarks,  because  it  has  long  been  fash- 
ionable to  mystify  the  subject  of  faith  by  involving  it  m 
the  mists  of  metaphysical  subtleties,  and  logical  nice- 
ties. Hence  we  hear  of  "  divine  faith,"  and  "  human 
faith,"  "  historical  faith,"  and  "  temporal  faith,"  and  I 
know  not  what  else ;  and  men  have  labored  much  in 
drawing  out  nice  hair-splitting  distinctions  between 
these  various  kinds  of  faith.  It  is  all  "  vanity  and  vex- 
ation of  spirit,"  a  mere  play  upon  words  without  profit. 
All  faith  is  one  and  indivisible  in  nature,  differing  only 
in  degree,  and  in  the  objects  upon  which  it  is  employed. 

The  opinion  that  Christian  faith  is  entirely  different 
from  any  other  kind  of  faith,  and  beyond  the  reach  of 
human  agency,  is  pernicious  in  the  extreme.  It  induces 
men  to  stand  complaining  of  their  want  of  faith,  and 
praying  for  more,  and  waiting  for  some  strange  and  di- 
vine afflatus  to  come  like  the  shock  of  a  galvanic  bat- 
tery, and  give  them  all  faith  in  a  moment.  This  keeps* 
men  weak  and  sickly  in  the  Christian  life.  If  a  man 
wants  more  faith,  let  him  work  as  well  as  pray.  Let 
him  candidly  and  perseveringly  gird  himself  to  the  work 
of  a  patient  examination  of  the  evidences,  on  whicn 
the  Gospel  rests  its  claims  for  our  credence.  He  will 
thus  find  that  the  Gospel  has  laid  its  foundation  on  the 


FAITH.  187 

immovable  rocks  of  eternal  truth,  he  will  know  what 
he  believes,  and  xchy  he  believes,  and  with  an  enlighten- 
ed mind  he  will  drink  in  the  waters  of  living  faith,  fresh 
from  the  e\-erlasting  spring,  and  rejoice  that  the  found- 
ation of  God  standeth  sure  and  steadfast.  Does  any 
man  lack  faith,  I  say  again,  let  him  work  as  well  as 
pray;  for  I  am  certain  that  calm  and  patient  investiga- 
tion of  the  evidences  of  revealed  religion,  is  the  best  an- 
tidote to  skepticism.  The  spectres  of  infidelity  will  flee 
before  it  as  chaff"  before  the  wind. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  then,  that  Christian  faith  takes 
cognizance  of  the  mission,  death,  resurrection,  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ,  and  is,  in  its  nature,  simply  the  as- 
sent which  the  mind  gives  to  the  truth  of  these  things 
from  the  force  of  evidence,  and  will,  in  each  case,  bt 
weak  or  strong,  in  proportion  as  the  evidence  is  under- 
stood and  appreciated.     I  pass  to  inquire, 

II.  What  is  the  utility  of  Christian  faith  ? 

In  answering  this  question,  there  are  two  extremes 
into  which  men  have  run.  On  the  one  hand  it  is 
thought  that  no  man  can  be  saved  without  faith,  and 
that  the  eternal  destinies  of  the  world  are  suspended 
upon  the  conditions  of  faith  or  unbelief  This  is  one 
extreme.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  thought  by  some, 
that  Christian  faith  is  entirely  useless,  and  men  are  as 
well  off  without  as  with  it.  This  is  another  extreme, 
and  it  will  appear  in  the  sequel,  that  the  truth  lies  be- 
tween the  two. 

The  fallacy  of  the  first  of  these  positions  is  evident 
from  the  single  consideration  that  truth  is  immutable 
and  exists  independent  of  the  faith  or  unbelief  of  man. 
If  faith  is  what  I  have  said  it  is,  the  assent  of  the  mind 
to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  then  evidently  the  Gospel 
TO'ist  exist  beforehand,  and  its  r*uth  or  falsity  can  in  no 


188  FAITH. 

way  be  affected  by  faith,  which  is  always  ex* post 
facto. 

For  instance  : — It  is  either  true  that  Christ  came  and 
suffered,  and  labored,  and  died,  and  rose  from  the  dead, 
or  it  is  not.  If  it  is  not  true,  then  my  faith  cannot  make 
it  so.  But,  if  it  be  true  that  he  thus  came,  then  it 
would  be  equally  true  even  though  the  whole  world 
should  refuse  to  belie v^e  it. 

Again.  I  suppose  it  is  this  day  true,  that  you  and  I 
will  either  be  saved  or  lost.  If  it  be  true  that  we  are  to 
be  lost,  then,  surely,  no  faith  can  save  us;  and  if  it  be 
true  that  we  are  to  be  saved,  then  it  is  equally  certain, 
thatno  want  of  faith  in  us  can  make  it  untrue.  Hence  then, 
I  conclude,  that  the  sentiment  which  teaches  that  man 
can  make  or  unmake  God's  truth  at  pleasure,  and  that 
men  are  to  be  saved  in  another  world  because  they  are 
fortunate  enough  to  believe  it  is  so,  or  lost  because  they 
believe  it  is  not  so,  is  grossly  absurd  and  utterly  unphi- 
losophical. 

Look  at  the  subject  in  another  light.  Millions  on 
millions  of  the  human  family  have  never  heard  even  the 
name  of  Christ.  They  bow  down  before  dumb  idols 
and  worship  the  works  of  their  own  hands.  They  pay 
their  devotions  in  temples  whose  inmates  never  yet 
dreamed  that  such  a  being  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  ever 
had  an  existence.  Besides  all  this,  even  in  Christian 
countries  there  are  many,  very  many,  who  go  down  to 
the  grave  in  infancy,  or  in  the  early  morning  of  their  ex- 
istence, ere  yet  their  minds  are  capable  of  exercising 
faith  in  Christ,  or  of  understanding  his  doctrines.  All 
these  must  be  lost,  if  it  be  true  that  none  but  believers 
can  be  saved ;  for  they  all  die  without  faith. 

I  ask  you — Is  there  consistency  or  reason,  or  even  hu- 
manity, in  a  doctrine  which  teaches  that  God  will  curse 


FAITH.  189 

with  endless  wo,  "the  distant  islands  of  the  sea," 
merely  because  they  did  not  believe  on  him,  of  whose 
name  tiiey  have  never  heard,  and  of  whose  religion,  the 
very  circumstances  in  which  God  has  placed  them,  com- 
pel them  to  be  as  profoundly  ignorant  as  they  are  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  distant  stars?  Is  it  reasonable  to 
suppose,  that  a  God  of  all  perfection  and  goodness,  will 
curse  all  who  die  in  infancy,  merely  because  he  saw 
proper  to  take  them  out  of  the  world  before  they  were 
capable  of  exercising  faith  in  the  Gospel  ?  These  are 
necessary  and  unavoidable  conclusions  from  the  position, 
that  God  has  made  faith  a  condition  of  future  salvation, 
and  I  warn  you  not  to  embrace  that  position,  unless  you 
are  prepared  to  go  the  whole  length,  and  damn  all  who 
do  not  come  up  to  the  condition.  « 

But  let  us  turn  our  attention  to  the  Scriptures,  and  see 
what  light  we  can  gather  from  them,  upon  the  subject 
in  question.  "  What  if  some  did  not  believe  ?  Shall 
their  unbelief  make  the  faith  of  God  without  effect  ? 
God  forbid  !  Yea,  let  God  be  true  and  every  man  a  liar." 
I  may  remark,  here,  that  the  word  rendered  faith  in  the 
last  clause  of  the  text,  is  the  same  that  is  often  translat- 
ed faithfulness,  and  that  it  should  have  been  so  trans- 
lated in  this  instance,  is  evident  from  the  consideration 
that  God  cannot  be  said  to  have  faith  in  the  coramcm 
acceptation  of  the  term.  To  him  all  things  are  distinctly 
and  infallibly  known,  and  hence  nothing  can  be  a  matter 
of  faith  with  him.  In  the  new  and  improved  version  of 
the  testament,  the  passage  reads  thus:  "What  if  some 
had  not  faith  ?  Shall  their  want  of  faith  make  the  faith- 
fulness of  God  of  no  effect  ?  By  no  means,  rather  let 
God  be  true,  though  every  man  be  a  liar." 

The  doctrine  of  the  text  is,  therefore,  evidently  this; — 
**  That  faith  in  man  can  have  no  effect  upon  the  faith* 


190  FAITH. 

fulness  of  God.  Though  some  do  not  believe^  yei  God 
is  faithful  and  true."  The  controversy  ought  then,  in 
reality,  to  be  with  the  Apostle,  and  not  with  me,  for 
when  I  assert  that  a  want  of  faith  cannot  cause  God's 
faithfulness  to  fail,  I  am  but  repeating  the  clear  and  un- 
questionable doctrine  of  my  text. 

But  there  are  on  record  some  facts,  that  can  be  heard 
upon  this  subject,  and  to  them  I  will  appeal  for  a  further 
illustration  of  the  truth  of  my  position.  When  God 
speaks  either  a  threatening  or  a  promise,  he  is  faithful  to 
his  word,  and  I  propose  to  look  back  for  a  moment  and 
inquire  what  effect  faith  or  unbelief  has  had  upon  the 
faithfulness  of  God,  as  manifested  in  the  fulfilment  of 
his  threaienings  of  punishment  upon  the  guilty. 
»  Look  at  the  years  beyond  the  flood,  and  learn  wisdom 
from  the  fate  of  the  Antediluvians.  They  had  become 
grossly  corrupt  and  hopelessly  wicked,  and  God  threat- 
ened to  destroy  them  with  a  flood.  He  commissioned 
Noah  to  make  known  this,  his  determination,  and  ac- 
cordingly while  the  ark  was  in  preparation  he  preached 
righteousness  to  the  people,  and  warned  them,  that  God 
had  threatened  to  sweep  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth 
by  a  flood.  But  they  heeded  him  not.  His  admonitions 
passed  as  the  idle  wind,  and  his  words  were  to  them  as 
one  that  mocked.  They  believed  not,  but  God  was 
faithful.  The  rushing  orrents  of  water,  the  open  win- 
dows of  heaven,  the  bioken  fountains  of  the  great  deep, 
and  the  desolated  earth  bore  witness,  that  when  God 
speaks,  he  is  faithful  to  the  performance  of  his  word, 
though  man  believes  not. 

Take  another  illustration.  The  children  of  Jacob 
lived  in  peace,  for  aught  that  would  appear  to  the  con- 
trary, until  there  came  an  intimation  that  God  would 
raise  Joseph  above  his  brethren.     The  brethren  would 


FAITH.  191 

not  believe  that  such  a  thing  would  be  brought  to  pass, 
and  in  order  to  make  sure  work  of  it,  they  sold  him  a 
slave  into  Egypt.  But  mark  the  wonders  of  the  divine 
power.  God's  purpose  was  fulfilled,  and  even  the  very 
means  that  they  employed  in  their  blindness  to  justify 
their  unbelief,  were  made  the  instruments  of  manifest- 
ing the  divine  faithfulness,  and  proving  that  God  is  not 
less  true  when  men  reject  his  truth  than  when  they 
receive  it  by  faith. 

The  case  of  the  Jews  in  the  days  of  the  Saviour,  will 
afford  you  another  illustration  of  the  point  in  hand.  God 
by  the  mouth  of  his  prophets  had  threatened  against 
them,  the  most  severe  and  extraordinary  judgements.  He 
had  forewarned  them,  that  their  city  and  their  temple 
should  be  destroyed,  and  the  whole  naiion  should  be 
scattered,  a  proverb  and  a  by-word  among  all  people. 
Jesus  came  and  sounded  the  alarm,  informing  them  that 
the  day  of  their  downfall  was  drawing  nigh  ;  that  even 
upon  that  generation,  there  should  come  a  time  of 
trouble,  such  as  had  not  been  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  that  same  time,  and  upon  their  heads  should 
fall  all  the  righteous  blood  that  had  been  shed  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth.  But  they  did  not  believe,  and  though 
he  wrought  many  mighty  works  in  confirmation  of  his 
mission,  yet  they  rejected  him  and  finally  put  him  to 
death.  Yet  God  was  faithful  to  his  word.  Jerusalem 
was  surrounded  with  armies,  the  glory  of  her  temple 
was  laid  low,  and  the  nation  itself  rent  in  fragments  and 
scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 

Now  in  reference  to  all  these  instances,  we  may  with 
propriety  ask,  "What  if  some  did  not  believe?  Did 
their  unbelief  make  the  faithfulness  of  God  of  no  effect  ?" 
And  the  obvious  answer  is  "By  no  means."  Nor  is 
there  any  conceivable  influence,  that  their  unbelief  ex- 


192  FAITh 

erted  upon  the  firm  and  immutaole  counsels  of  God. 
God  spoke,  and  it  was  done ;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood 
fast,  and  though  man  refused  to  believe,  yet  was  God 
found  to  be  faithful  to  his  word. 

But  I  need  not  dwell  here,  for  the  great  mass  of  pro- 
fessors are  perfectly  willing-  to  grant,  and  do  in  fact  be- 
lieve, that  the  faith  or  the  unbelief  of  man,  can  have  no 
influence  upon  the  faithfulness  of  God  so  far  as  the 
thrcatenings  of  his  law  are  concerned.  Though  the 
whole  world  should  refuse  to  believe,  yet  would  God 
execute  them  every  one.  And  yet,  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  when  we  come  to  the  ^'  sure  mercies  of  David,^^ 
and  the  blessings  promised  iu  the  covenant  of  eternal 
mercy  and  truth,  we  shall  be  told,  that  God  will  not  be- 
stow the  blessings,  because  man,  in  his  blindness,  does 
not  believe  that  he  intends  to  do  so !  Will  it  please 
some  man  well  skilled  in  the  mysteries  of  the  day,  to 
inform  us  what  good  reason  there  is  for  supposing,  that 
God  will  be  less  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  promises 
of  grace  than  in  the  execution  of  the  thrcatenings  of  his 
law  ?  The  light  of  heaven  never  shone  upon  a  darker  in- 
consistency than  this.  When  God  threatened  to  destroy 
the  old  world,  he  was  faithful  and  true,  notwithstanding 
their  unbelief  But  when  he  promises  to  pour  down  the 
waters  of  salvation  like  an  overflowing  stream  from  on 
high,  until  they  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover 
the  face  of  the  sea— Ah  !  then  we  begin  to  hear  of  faith, 
and  of  the  power  of  unbelief  to  prevent  the  fulfilment  of 
the  gracious  word  !  When  God  threatened  to  scatter  the 
Jews  among  all  people,  he  was  faithful,  and  the  work 
was  done,  though  they  believed  not ;  but  when  he 
promises  to  gather  them  all  together  again  and  with 
them  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles;  yea,  when  he  lifts  his 
immortal  hand  and  swears  by  himself,  because  there  is 


FAITH.  193 

none  greater,  that  in  Christ,  he  will  bless  '  all  nations 
and  kindreds,  and  families  of  the  earth;"  then  we  hear, 
that  it  is  all  suspended  upon  the  contingency  of  faith,  and 
that  God  cannot  fulfil  the  promise,  because  man  will 
not  believe.  I  pray  you  think  of  these  things,  and  if  in 
all  the  threatenings  of  his  word,  God  is  faithful  and  true 
though  men  do  not  believe,  what  wonderful  sagacity  is 
this  by  which  you  have  discovered,  or  by  what  rule  of 
logic  have  you  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  God  is  not 
equally  faithful  in  his  promises  of  salvation  even  though 
men  do  not  believe? 

Shall  I  be  told,  that  these  promises  are  conditional  and 
the  condition  is  faith  ?  I  appeal  to  the  promises  them- 
selves, and  they  shall  refute  the  assertion.  The  promise 
to  Abraham  is  called  by  the  Apostle,  the  Gospel  which 
was  preached  to  that  Patriarch,  and  thus  it  reads:  "By 
myself  have  I  sworn,  for  because  thou  hast  done  this, 
and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  surely  in 
blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  mul- 
tiply thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  he  shall  pos- 
sess the  gates  of  his  enemies,  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all 
nations  be  blessed."  There  is  no  intimation  that  this 
promise  depends  for  its  fulfilment  upon  the  faith  of  man. 
The  apostle  speaks  of  its  stability  thus:  "When  God 
made  promise  to  Abraham,  because  he  could  swear  by 
none  greater,  he  swore  by  himself,  that  by  two  immuta- 
ble things,  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we 
might  have  strong  consolation  who  have  fled  for  refuge 
to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  us;  which  hope  we 
have  as  an  anchor  to  the  soul  sure  and  steadfast^ 

Again,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord.    "  I  have  sworn  by 
myself,  the  word  hath  gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righte- 
ousness and  shall  not  return,  that  unto  me  every  knee 
shall  bow,  and  every  tongue  shall  swear,  surely  shall 
17  ^ 


194  FAITH. 

say,  in  the  Lord  have  I  righteousness  and  strength."  is 
there  aught  in  such  language  as  this,  to  countenance  the 
idea,  that  1  he  promised  blessing  was  made  dependent 
upon  man's  faith,  or  that  it  would  be  withheld  if  men 
did  not  believe  ?  You  know  the  answer  that  truth  must 
give,  and  I  leave  it  with  you,  satisfied  that  you  will 
answer  it  correctly. 

I  have  noAN  told  you  what  faith  cannot  do.  It  cannot 
make  God  more  faithful,  nor  a  want  of  it  cause  his  faith- 
fulness to  fail ;  and  I  ^r^sume  there  are  some  of  my 
hearers  who  will  be  rea  y  to  slide  into  the  opposite  ex- 
treme, and  say,  that  if  I  am  right,  then  faith  is  of  no  use 
at  all.  There  are  many  who  cannot  see  what  on  earth 
should  induce  Universalists  to  preach,  or  exert  them- 
selves at  all  to  make  men  believe.  If,  say  they,  your 
doctrine  be  true,  and  God  will  bless  and  save  all  men  in 
another  world,  whether  they  believe  or  not,  pray  what 
is  the  use  of  faith,  or  what  difference  does  it  make 
whether  a  man  believes  or  not  ?  This  is  a  question 
often  asked,  and  it  shall  now  be  my  business  fairly  and 
fully  to  answer  it. 

I.  Faith  saves  man  from  the  darkness  and  gloom  of 
atheism. 

I  can  hardly  imagine  a  more  miserable  condition  for 
man  than  to  be  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the 
world.  The  child  whose  parent  has  gone  down  to  the 
grave,  and  who  is  left  an  orphan,  claims  our  pity.  He 
looks  around  him,  and  there  is  none  to  whom  he  can  go 
for  protection  and  help.  He  looks  to  the  future,  and 
knows  that  the  path  before  him  is  beset  with  thorns  on 
every  side,  and  "  dangers  stand  thick  through  all  the 
way."  He  feels  that  he  must  tread  that  path  alone, 
and  single-handed  meet  the  ills  of  life,  while  doubt  and 
gloom  brood  over  the  result.     As  feels  that  orphan,  so 


FAITH.  95 

feels  the  man  who  looks  up  to  heaven,  and  knows  no 
Father  there.  He  sees  chaos  and  confusion  around  hira, 
and  he  knows  that  soon  "  life's  busy  day  will  be  o'er," 
and  believes  that  the  hour  that  lays  his  head  in  the  dust, 
will  witness  the  eternal  end  of  all  his  hopes  and  joys — 
nay,  of  his  existence  itself 

Now,  Christian  faith  saves  men  from  this  darksome 
gloom.  It  fills  the  throne  of  the  universe  with  a  God 
of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  and  sheds  a  halo  of 
glory  over  all  the  things  of  earth,  for  it  presents  them 
all  as  under  the  direction  and  control  of  a  being  too  wise 
to  err,  and  too  good  to  do  an  injury  to  any  of  his  creatures. 
It  plants  in  the  heart  a  child-like  confidence  in  God,  and 
makes  man  feel  like  the  child  that  is  encircled  in  the 
arms  of  a  merciful  father. 

11.  It  saves  from  the  wretchedness,  degradation  and 
misery  of  superstition  and  idolatry. 

There  are  few  men  on  earth,  who  have  so  far  divested 
themselves  of  those  feelings  of  dependance,  inherent  in 
human  nature,  as  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  God.  But 
it  unfortunately  happens  that  many  believe  in,  and  wor- 
ship gods  worse  than  none,  whose  existpnce  is  to  them 
the  most  bitter  curse  they  have  to  depiore.  The  gods 
of  the  heathen  are,  for  the  most  part,  tyrants  of  the 
worst  stamp.  Wrath  that  burns  exceedingly  hot,  and 
cruelty  that  sheds  not  a  tear,  and  heaves  not  a  sigh,  over 
the  woes  of  humanity,  are  the  most  prominent  featilres 
of  their  character.  Before  them  the  slave  cringos  with 
fear  and  trembling,  and  the  crouching  menial  howhj  in 
deep  despair.  On  their  altars  victims  bleed  and  die,  and 
humanity  shudders  around  to  witness  deeds  of  blood 
and  cruelty.  We,  to  be  sure,  are  far  removed  from 
such  scenes,  and  think  little  of  them ;  but  yet  it  is  a 
melancholy  truth,  that  there  is  not  a  wind  that  blows, 


196  FAITH. 

which  does  not  waft  the  deep  wailings  of  suffering  igno- 
rance ;  nor  does  the  thunder  utter  its  voice  but  it  is  taken 
as  the  signal  for  keener  pains,  and  greater  and  more 
heart-rending  sacrifices  upon  the  altars  of  superstition. 

Faith  in  tlie  Gospel  saves  from  this  ignorance,  and  all 
its  attendant  train  of  cruelties,  miseries,  and  immorali- 
ties. It  makes  the  temple  of  worship  the  hallowed 
sanctuary  of  joy,  and  diffuses  all  abroad  in  society  an 
influence,  that  softens  and  refines,  and  brings  man  up  to 
the  true  dignity  of  his  nature.  I  ask  the  hearer  to  com- 
pare the  condition  of  the  Christian  worshipper,  with 
that  of  the  deluded  mortal  who  bows  down  at  the  shrine 
of  idolatry,  and  behold  the  work  of  faith.  I  ask  you  to 
compare  our  own  country,  with  those  barbarous  nations 
where  the  light  of  Christianity  never  shone,  and  ask 
what  makes  the  difference  ?  It  is  faith,  and  nothing 
else,  that  has  wrought  that  difference.  Christian  faith 
has  gone  forth  in  its  power,  and  changed  the  "  tiger  to 
the  lamb,  and  the  vulture  to  the  dove."  All  that  we 
are,  above  the  pagan,  who  casts  himself  down  to  be 
crushed  beneath  the  wheels  of  an  idol's  car,  we  owe  to 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Faith  has  done  it  all,  and  but  for 
that  faith,  you  and  I  would  this  day  have  bowed  down 
to  gods  of  wood  and  stone. 

III.  Faith  saves  from  doubt  and  fear  of  the  future. 

The  future  is  dark  and  gloomy  to  the  mind  that  is 
ndt  enlightened  by  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  The 
grave  yawns  in  darkness  at  our  feet,  and  what  awaits 
us  beyond  that  narrow  house,  no  mortal  man  can  tell. 
But  faith  speaks,  and  life  dawns  upon  the  death  of  the 
grave,  and  the  vision  of  a  world  redeemed  from  sin  and 
death,  and  made  holy  and  happy  in  the  heavenly  king- 
dom, bursts  upon  our  view.  Sin  is  destroyed,  death 
conquered,  and   all  created  humanity   delivered  from 


lAITH.  Wl 

bondage,  and  translated  into  the  glorious  libert/  of  th« 
children  of  God. 

Do  you  ask  me  then  what  faith  can  do  ?  My  answer 
is,  it  can  save  man  from  error,  superstition,  sin,  misery, 
and  fear.  It  can  give  us  good  hope  and  everlasting  con- 
solation, keep  us  humble  in  prosperity,  sustain  us  in  ad- 
versity, direct  us  in  all  difficulties,  support  us  in  sickness, 
and  put  a  song  of  victory  upon  our  tongues  in  the  hour 
of  death.  It  can  make  the  dying  bed  feel  soft  as  downy 
pillows  are,  and  when  heart  and  flesh  has  failed,  and  the 
dim  eye  has  closed  upon  all  the  beauties  of  earth,  and 
the  frail  body  lies  silent  in  the  grave,  it  can  linger  around 
the  house  of  mourning,  and  pour  its  heavenly  consola- 
tions into  the  bleeding  bosoms  of  the  afflicted — wipe  the 
falling  tear  from  the  eye  of  the  widow,  and  hush  the 
moan  of  her  fatherless  children,  with  its  inspiring  hopes. 
Oh !  ye  afflicted  and  poor,  ye  sick  and  ye  sorrowful,  ye 
mourning  sons  and  daughters  of  sorrow,  hold  fast  the 
priceless  treasures  of  faith.     It  is 

"  A  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound, 
A  cordial  for  your  fears." 

Hold  it  fast,  and  by  no  means  let  it  go.  And  ye,  who 
are  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world, 'ye  who 
are  thoughtless  and  giddy  and  who  care  for  none  of  these 
things,  seek  ye  a  living  faith  as  the  greatest  of  all  earthly 
blessings.  The  day  is  coming  when  you  will  need  it. 
Misfortunes  will  befall  you,  your  earthly  hopes  will  be 
blasted,  and  then  you  will  need  the  sustaining  power  of 
faith.  But  if  you  could  escape  these,  still  there  is  a 
solemn  day  coming  when  you  will  feel  your  need  of  a  faith 
so  much  divine.  Sickness  and  pain  will  overtake  you. 
Those  rosy  cheeks  will  be  pale — those  sparkling  eyes 
will  be  sunken  and  dim — that  blooming  countenance  wiU 
17* 


198  FAITH. 

be  hagg-ard  and  ghastly,  and  that  form,  so  erect  and  beau- 
tiful, will  be  emaciated  and  poor  upon  a  dying  bed.  Some 
friendly  voice  will  whisper  in  thy  ear  the  solemn  truth, 
that  the  day  of  thy  death  draweth  nigh,  and  the  hour  of 
thy  departure  is  at  han(^  Then,  if  not  before,  will  you 
feel  your  need  of  faith  in  a  better  and  happier  land. 
Oh  !  for  God's  sake,  and  for  your  own  sake,  lay  up  treas- 
ures agamst  a  day  like  this,  and  let  your  prayer  be, 

"  Oh  !  for  a  strong,  a  lasting  faith, 
To  credit  what  Jehovali  saith, 
To  hear  the  message  of  his  Son, 
And  call  the  joys  of  heaven  our  own." 


WFLUENCE   OF   UNIVERSALISM.  109 


SERMON  XIV. 
INFLUENCE    OF    UNIVERSALISM. 

"Come  thou  with  us  and  we  will  do  thee  good  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
food  concerning  Israel."  Numbers  x.  29. 

In  ray  previous  lectures,  I  have  endeavored  to  prove 
the  truth  of  the  great  and  leading  doctrines  of  that 
system  of  faith,  which  is  known  under  the  name  of 
Universalism.  In  the  present  discourse  I  intend  to  lay 
before  you,  an  exposition  of  the  influence  which  I  sup- 
pose these  doctrines  are  calculated  to  exercise,  upon  the 
hearts  and  the  lives  of  those  who  believe. 

There  is  perhaps  no  one  question  more  frequently  put 
by  the  opposers  of  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Salvation, 
than  this,  what  good  will  it  do  to  preach  or  believe  it, 
even  if  it  be  true  ?  The  question  is  an  important  one, 
and  it  shall  be  treated  with  all  that  candor  which  its 
importance  so  obviously  demands. 

I  profess  to  you  that  I  would  not  advocate  a  system 
which  I  did  not  most  religiously  believe  calculated  to 
promote  the  interests  of  man.  But  believing  as  I  do, 
most  heartily,  that  every  man,  woman  and  child,  would 
be  benefited  by  faith  in  the  doctrine  of  impartial  grace, 
I  am  constrained  to  proclaim  it  in  the  midst  of  obloquy 
and  reproach,  and  to  cr}'  unto  you  wiih  affectionate 
earnestness,  "  Come  thou  with  us  and  we  will  do  thee 
good."  If  you  ask  me  what  good  it  would  do  you  to 
believe  in  this  d  jctriue  ?    My  answer  is, 


800  INFLUENCE   OF   UNIVERSALISM. 

I.  It  would  increase  your  happiness. 

I  make  this  remark,  with  the  intention  of  applying  it 
in  its  broadest  and  most  literal  sense.  I  make  no  ex- 
ceptions, but  I  say  there  is  no  human  being  who  would 
not  be  made  more  happy  by  a  living  faith  in  the  im- 
mortal purity^and  everlasting  felicity  of  the  whole  hu- 
man family.  I  care  not  what  your  present  faiih  may  be ;  I 
care  not  whether  you  agree,  at  present,  with  the  atheist, 
deist,  skeptic,  or  with  any  one  of  the  numerous  denom- 
inations of  professing  christians;  one  thing  I  know,  you 
have  not  a  faith  which  presents  more  glorious  hopes,  or 
more  heart-cheering  anticipations  than  Universalism, 
and  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  invent  one  that  shall  do 
so.  Immortality  and  perfect  unalloyed  felicity  for  all 
created  intelligences,  is  the  "  summum  honuni^  "  the  "  ne 
plus  ultra  "  of  all  good,  beyond  which  imagination  itself 
cannot  proceed.  I  say,  therefore,  there  is  no  man  among 
you,  who  would  not  be  made  happier  by  a  firm  faith  in 
I  a  system  which  promises  all  that  the  benevolent  heart 
lean  wish,  and  even  more  than  the  most  lively  imagina- 
stion  can  conceive.  Let  us  see  if  I  am  not  right  here. 
,■  Suppose  you  are  an  atheist ;  you  believe  that  this 
beautiful  world  came  into  existence  by  chance,  or  sprang 
from  the  operation  of  the  laws  of  matter;  and  that  all 
its  vast  concerns,  are  going  on  at  hap-hazard,  or  are  sub- 
ject only  to  the  laws  of  nature.  And  as  for  yourself, 
you  are  but  the  being  of  a  day,  the  offspring  of  chance, 
ushered  into  life,  like  the  insect  whose  wing  glitters  in 
the  sunbeam,  to  sport  your  little  hour,  and  die  to  live  nc 
more.  You  look  upward  to  heaven,  and  there  is  nc 
Father  there.  You  look  around  you,  and  all  is  confu- 
sion. You  look  forward,  and  all  is  darkness  and  gloom. 
You  look  downward,  and  the  grave  yawns  at  your  feet, 
and  the  highest  hope  yod  have,  is  that  there  you  will 


INFLLENCt:    OF    UNIVERSAHSM.  201 

soon  feed  the  greedy  worm,  and  moulder  back  to  your 
native  dust ! 

Need  I  compare  such  a  faith  with  that  of  the  chris- 
tian, in  ordor  to  show  that  so  far  as  its  influence  upon 
human  happiness  is  concerned,  the  latter  is  as  much 
above  the  former,  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth. 
I  trust  such  a  work  is  unnecessary,  for  I  have  seen  the 
atheist,  or  at  least  the  man  who  professed  to  have  no 
faith  in  a  God,  and  from  his  own  lips  have  I  had  the 
confession  of  the  happifying  influence  of  the  christian 
faith.  Never  did  I  see  the  man  of  this  sort  who  would 
not  say  to  me,  "  Sir,  I  Avish  I  could  believe  as  you  do, 
for  could  I  look  up  to  heaven,  and  feel  that  I  had  a  friend 
and  a  father  there,  who  would  take  care  of  me  all  my 
life  long,  and  crown  me  with  immortality  at  last,  I  know 
I  should  be  a  happitr,  if  not  a  better  man."  I  say  then 
that  Universalism  heartily  believed,  would  make  the 
atheist  more  happy  than  he  can  be  without  it. 

But  suppose  you  are  a  deist ;  you  believe  in  the  God 
of  nature,  and  in  his  general  providence,  but  you  have 
no  idea  that  he  stoops  to  converse  with  man,  or  to  reveal 
to  him  his  character  or  purposes.  You  know  that  you 
must  die,  and  have  no  hope  that  you  shall  live  again. 
The  day  of  your  death  is  the  boundary  of  all  your  ex- 
pectations, and  you  have  no  idea  that  you  shall  live  at 
all  beyond  the  grave.  To  you  heaven  is  a  dream,  and 
immortality  a  fable.  Your  children  and  friends  are 
dying  around  you,  and  when  you  part  with  them  you 
part  to  meet  no  more,  and  you  expect  soon  to  close  your 
own  eyes  upon  all  the  endearments  of  earth,  and  bid  a 
sad  and  eternal  farewell  to  friends  and  friendship,  to  hope 
and  happiness,  nay,  even  to  existence  itself. 

I  am  willing  to  grant  that  this  faith  is  better  than 
atheism,  for  there  is  SDme  little  comfort  to  be  derived 


202  INFLUENCE   OF    UNIVERSAL IS.M. 

from  the  thought  that  the  affairs  of  this  world  are 
measuraUy  under  the  government  and  control  of  a  wise 
and  good  creator  and  governor.  But  I  utter  a  philo- 
sophical, as  well  as  a  scriptural  truth,  when  I  say  that 
this  cannot  satisfy  the  desires  of  the  mind,  or  still  those 
yearnings  after  immortality  which  are  inwoven  with 
the  very  constitution  of  the  human  soul.  Man  is  so 
made,  that  he  must  necessarily  and  unavoidably  look  for- 
ward to  the  future,  and  hope  or  fear. 

"  The  soul  uneasy  and  confined  fronri  home, 
E,ests  and  expatiates  in  the  world  to  come." 

I  have  said  that  this  is  with  man  unavoidable,  for  1 
believe  that  he  can  no  more  avoid  looking  into  the  future, 
than  he  can  avoid  looking  backward  and  remembering 
the  past.  But  whether  it  be  absolutely  unavoidable  or 
not,  is  of  little  consequence  to  our  present  argument. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact,  that  all  men  everywhere 
do  draw  upon  the  future  for,  sources  of  enjoyment;  and 
there  is  just  as  little  doubt  that  a  large  share  of  human 
happiness  is  derived  from  ai  ticipation.  Some  have  gone 
so  far  as  to  maintain,  that  the  pleasure  derived  frorri 
anticipated  good,  is  greater  than  that  produced  by  the 
actual  possession  of  the  good  itself  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  nevertheless,  positively  certain,  that  hope  opens 
rich  fountains  of  happiness  to  man ;  and  hence  it  fol- 
lows, that  any  system  which  limits  the  sphere  of  hope 
to  a  few  years,  and  cuts  it  short  at  death,  must  deprive 
man  of  one  of  the  richest  sources  of  happiness.  But  I 
need  not  argue  this  quesucn,  for  I  know  not  that  it  is 
ofien  dispute  J,  that  a  firm  hope  in  future  and  immortal 
blessedness,  is  a  blessing  well  calculated  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  man.  I  may  add,  that  this  is  a  fountain 
which  remains  full  and  overflowing,  at  the  very  time 


INFLUENCE   OF   UNIVERSALIS?!.  203 

when  it  is  needed  most,  when  all  other  sources  of  felici- 
ty have  failed. 

To  the  deist,  then,  we  say,  "  Come  thou  with  us,  and 
we  will  do  thee  good."  We  will  give  thee  a  hope  that 
shall  make  thee  happy.  We  will  inspire  thee  with  confi- 
dence in  God,  as  a  friend,  in  whom  we  may  at  all 
times  tr:i<!t  without  fear  of  danger  or  disappointment. 
We  will  give  thee  a  hope  that  shall  cheer  thee  in  life, 
grow  brighter  and  brighter,  as  the  lamp  of  life  burns 
dim  and  feeble;  sustain  thee  in  affliction,  and  give 
thee  a  triumphant  song  of  victory,  when  death  shall 
claim  his  tribute. 

Suppose,  again,  you  are  a  Christian  ;  but  have  unfor- 
tunately embraced  those  narrow  views  of  the  economy 
of  your  Father's  grace,  that  so  extensively  and  unhap- 
pily prevail  in  the  church,  at  the  present  day.     You  be- 
lieve that  "  God  from  all  eternity,  has  elected  some  men 
to  be  redeemed  and  everlastingly  saved  by  Christ  Jesus, 
and  the  remainder  he  was  pleased  to  pass  by,  and  or- 
dain to  dishonor  and  wrath,  to  the  praise  of  his  vindic- 
tive justice."     Can  such  a  faith  make  you  calmly  and 
peacefully  happy  in  life,  and  resigned  and  joyous  in  the 
hour  of  death  ?     I  doubt  it  much,  because,  in  the  first 
place,  you  cannot  know  for  a  positive  certainty  that  you 
are  one  of  the  very  and  precious  elect  of  God ;  and  so 
long  as  there  is  a  lingering  doubt  upon  that  question, 
you  must  be  measurably  unhappy.     But,  in  the  second 
place,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  remove  all  doubt  upon 
that  question,  even  that  would  not  be  fully  satisfactory. 
There  are  ties  that  bind  you  to  your  feli(;w-creatures, 
and  give  you  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  their  wel- 
fare.    I  will  therefore  view  your  case  in  the  most  fa- 
vorable hght.     I  will  suppose  that  your  election  is  sure, 
and  you  are  persuaded,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt 


204  INFLUENCE    OF   UNIVERSALISM. 

that  your  name  is  enrolled  among  the  number  of  ths 
precious  elect  of  God.  I  ask,  can  even  this  satisfy  you  ?  la 
there  no  soul  out  of  the  ark  of  safety  in  whose  welfare 
you  feel  an  interest  ?  Are  there  not  those  around  you 
that  you  love  ?  And  have  you  no  heart  to  feel  for 
them  ?  I  ask,  how  is  it,  when  you  look  upon  a  cherish- 
ed child  of  your  love,  and  behold  the  indelible  mark  of 
reprobation  stamped  upon  its  countenance  ?  Ah,  I 
know  how  it  is.  Your  feelings  are  like  those  of  the 
good  old  patriarch,  when  the  bloody  coat  was  brought 
home,  and  he  knew  it  belonged  to  his  darling  Joseph; 
and  he  refused  to  be  comforted,  saying,  "  I  will  go  down 
to  the  grave,  to  my  son,  mourning."  No  man  can  be 
fully  satisfied  with  a  faith  which  presents  him  with  a 
reasonable  probability,  nay,  an  absolute  certainty,  that 
myriads  of  his  fellow-creatures,  and  perhaps  among 
them  his  own  children,  will  fall  victims  to  a  hopeless 
decree  of  utter  and  eternal  reprobation. 

I  grant  that,  with  such  views,  you  may  at  limes  en- 
joy a  kind  of  satisfaction  in  the  hope  that  dear  and  be 
loved  self  is  safe;  but  that  any  man  who  has  a 
head  to  reason,  and  a  heart  to  feel,  can  possibly  be  as 
happy  with  such  a  faith,  as  he  would  be  with  one  that 
embraced  the  xohole  loorld  in  the  sure  and  steadfast  cov- 
enant of  redeeming  grace,  is  altogether  out  of  the 
question. 

But  I  will  make  another  supposition.  You  have  re- 
jected the  notion  of  election  and  reprobation.  You  now 
believe  that  God  offers  salvation  freely  to  all  his  crea- 
tures; and  that  they  may  all  be  saved,  if  they  will  com- 
ply with  the  conditions  of  grace.  Those  who  comply 
with  these  conditions  will  be  saved,  and  those  who  do 
not  comply  will  be  lost.  The  question  is,  whether  this 
faith  is  best  calculated  to  promote  human  happiness?  1 


INTLXIENCF   OF  TJNIVEBSAIISM.  205 

judge  not,  for  no  man  can  be  positively  certain  that  he 
has,  and  t.'ial  he  will,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  continue  to 
do  all  those  things  on  which  his  eternal  all  depends. 
So  long  as  there  is  doubt  upon  that  head,  it  will  be  a 
constant  source  of  misery.  In  fact,  the  foundation  of 
hope  in  this  system,  is  far  more  unsubstantial  than  in 
the  other.  The  man  who  believes  in  sovereign  election, 
if  he  can  satisfy  himself  that  he  is  elected,  can  rest  se- 
cure in  the  steadfast  hope  that  he  will  be  saved,  and 
that  no  power  in  heaven  or  earth  can  prevent  it.  But 
it  is  a  large  discount  from  this,  to  embrace  a  faith 
which  puts  us  in  jeopardy  every  hour,  lest  some  false 
step  of  ours  should  plunge  us  in  ceaseless  perdition. 

But  I  will  do  here  as  in  the  other  case.  I  will  place 
the  matter  in  its  most  favorable  aspect  before  you.  You 
are  now  satisfied  of  your  own  safety,  and  there  remains 
no  lingering  doubt  that  when  you  depart  from  this 
world,  your  soul  will  wing  its  way  to  the  realms  of  eter- 
nal" blessedness  and  joy.  Is  tJiat  all  you  want?  And 
are  you  now  satisfied,  and  perfectly  happy  ?  Dear  man ! 
Have  you  no  w^fe?  No  children?  No  friends?  No 
human  being  that  you  love  ?  If  you  have,  where  are 
your  bowels  of  mercy  and  your  feelings  of  compassion, 
that  you  can  be  happy  while  the  storm  of  endless 
wrath  is  gathering,  fearful  and  dark,  and  their  unshelter- 
ed heads  are  exposed,  naked,  to  its  fury  ?  I  know  not 
but  you  may  be  comfortable  with  such  a  faith,  but  I  do 
know,  from  bitter  experience,  that  I  could  not.  And  that 
any  man,  who  loves  his  neighbour  as  himself,  can  be  as 
happy  with  such  a  faith,  as  he  would  be  with  one  that 
promises  life  and  immortality  to  a  world,  is  absolutely 
impossible. 

The  man  who  cherishes  such  a  faith,  may  have  sea- 
sons of  joy.     He  may  have  occasional  gleamings  of  sun 
18 


206  INFLUENCE   OF   UNIVERSALISM. 

shine,  but  ihebroad  daylight  of  felicity,  pure  and  perpet- 
ual, he  may  not  expect.  He  may  reflect  upon  heaven 
and  its  glories,  its  songs  of  joy  and  anthems  of  cease- 
less praise,  and  the  prospect  of  obtaining  a  habitation 
there,  may  cause  him  to  rejoice.  But  he  must  also  look 
at  the  other  side  of  the  picture ;  and  when  he  thinks  ol 
hell^  with  all  its  'iiorrors,  its  dire  music  of  misery,  and  its 
groans  of  everlasting  despair,  and  remembers  that  him- 
self, or  his  children,  may  one  day  be  there,  his  soul  dies 
within  him,  and  his  joy  is  turned  to  mourning.  He  finds 
in  the  thought,  as  did  the  eloquent  Saurin,  "A  mortal 
poison,  diffusing  itself  through  every  period  of  life,  ren- 
dering society  tiresome,  pleasure  insipid,  and  life  itself  a 
cruel  bitter."  "  Come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do 
ihee  good."  Believe  in  the  full,  free,  perfect,  and  sure 
salvation  of  a  world,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved — saved 
from  those  doubts  and  fears,  that  now  "  waste  your 
faith  and  nourish  your  despair."  Ye  have  need  to  learn 
that  God  is  unchangably  "good  unto  all,  and  his  tender 
mercies  are  over  all  the  works  of  his  hands" — that  he  has 
linked  the  eternal  glory  of  his  creatures  fast  to  his  own 
throne,  by  the  strong  and  indissoluble  chain  of  his  love, 
and  that  no  power  in  heaven  or  on  earth,  in  time,  or 
eternity,  can  pluck  us  out  of  his  hands.  Learn  this,  I 
pray  you,  and  your  joys  shall  be  abundant,  and  ye  will 
tell  me,  as  every  man  Avho  believes  will  tell  me,  that 
faith  has  made  you  happier.  It  has  dispelled  the  clouds 
of  darkness  that  brooded  over  the  future,  and  raised  you 
up  to  better  prospects  and  more  glorious  hopes.  But  I 
observe  that  faith  in  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation 
will  not  only  make  you  happier,  but, 

n.  It  will  make  you  better. 

I  am  not  among  the  number  of  those  who  contend 
that  it  is  no  matter  what  a  man  believes ;  for  I  am  sure 


INFLUENCE   OF    DNIVERSALISAL  207 

that  faith  exercises  a  most  powerful  influence  upon  the 
character  and  the  conduct  of  man.  The  great  part  of 
that  v;hich  Ave  are  in  the  habit  of  considering  as  our 
stock  of  knowledge,  is  no  more  nor  less  than  faith;  and 
there  are  comparatively  but  few  of  the  acts  of  our  lives, 
that  proceed  from  what  we  positively  know.  "  We 
walk  by  faith,  and  not  by  sight,"  is  no  less  a  truth  of  expe- 
rience than  of  scripture.  Let  a  man  look  upon  the  Mo- 
hammedan, ready  at  all  times  to  raise  a  sword  in  an  in- 
discriminate slaughter  of  all  that  do  not  bow  down  at 
the  altar  of  the  Arabian  prophet,  and  let  him  tell  me,  if 
he  can,  what  but  faith  is  it  that  makes  the  difference 
between  that  man  and  the  Christian  ?  And  I  greatly 
err,  if  a  view  of  the  matter  in  this  light  does  not  oblige 
him  to  confess,  that  there  is  some  little  consequence  at- 
tached to  the  great  question,  what  a  man  shall,  and 
what  he  shall  not  believe.  Among  the  different  sects  of 
Christians,  separated  as  they  are  by  minor  points,  the 
difference  may  not  be  so  great,  as  between  the  Christian 
and  the  Mohammedan  faith.  But  that  there  is  a  differ- 
ence in  the  moral  influence  of  different  systems  among 
Christians,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

You  have,  many  of  you,  been  in  the  habit  of  sup- 
posing that  Universalism  had  no  requirements  to  ask  of 
its  believers,  and  that  its  moral  influence  must  be  deci- 
dedly bad,  and  you  maybe  surprised  to  hear  me  advocate 
its  claims  as  an  instrument  of  moral  reform.  But  so  it 
must  be.  I  distinctly  claim  for  the  doctrine  of  univer- 
sal grace,  not  only  an  equal  share  of  moral  power  with 
other  systems ;  but  I  claim  for  it  a  purer^  higher  and  ho- 
lier moral  influence,  than  can  be  exerted  by  any  other 
system;  and  I  give  it  you,  as  the  deliberate  conviction 
of  my  judgement,  that  there  is  no  man  among  you  who 
would  not  be  made  letter  by  faith  in  that  doctrine,  and 


208  INFLUENCE   OF   UNIVERSALISM. 

a  life  corresponding  with  its  requirements.  And  now 
for  the  reasons  which  induce  me  to  hold  this  opinion. 

I  might  indeed  insist  upon  this,  as  a  legitimate  con- 
clusion from  my  previous  position,  that  it  will  make 
men  happier,  for  I  hold  it  as  an  incontrovertible  truth, 
that  you  cannot  make  a  man  happier  without  at  the 
game  time  making  him  better.  Happiness  is  our  being's 
end  artd  aim,  and  it  is  in  pursuit  of  this,  that  we  perform 
every  act  of  our  lives.  It  is  a  want  of  this  that  leads 
men  into  sin.  It  is  a  restless,  uneasy  and  unsatisfied 
spirit,  that  goads  men  on  and  urges  them  to  the  commis- 
sion of  all  those  foul  deeds  that  disgrace  humanity,  and 
I  risk  nothing  in  saying,  that  no  man  ever  yet  committed 
a  crime  when  he  was  calm,  contented,  satisfied  and 
happy.  In  proportion,  therefore,  as  any  doctrine  is  cal- 
culated to  satisfy  our  desires  for  happiness,  will  it  exert 
a  salutary  moral  influence. 

If  therefore,  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Grace,  is,  as  I 
have  shown,  better  calculated  to  make  men  calmly  and 
peacefully  happy,  than  any  other  system,  it  follows  as  a 
legitimate  conclusion,  that  it  will  exert  the  most  power- 
ful and  salutary  moral  influence.  But  I  will  not  insist 
on  this  argument  for  there  are  an  abundance  of  evidences 
in  favor  of  our  position  without  it. 

I.  It  presents  the  only  salutary  doctrine  of  punishment 

There  is  no  greater  error  than  the  supposition,  that 
man's  respect  and  reverence  for  law,  is  increased  by  ad- 
ding to  the  amount  of  the  penalty.  In  fact  the  very 
reverse  of  this  proposition  comes  much  nearer  the  truth 
than  the  proposition  itself.  The  whole  history  of  the 
world  will  bear  witness,  that  in  all  ages,  and  in  all 
countries,  those  laws  have  been  most  respected  and  best 
obeyec',  whose  penalties  have  been  most  mild  and  mer- 
ciful.    But  when  tyrants  have  ruled  with  a  rod  of  iron, 


INFLUENCE   OF    UKIVERSALISM.  209 

and  sought  to  enforce  obedience  to  their  laws,  by  means 
of  most  severe  and  unmerciful  punishmenis,  then  the 
weak  and  timid  have  despaired,  and  the  stoui-hearted 
nave  despised  them,  and  transgression  has  abounded. 
Novsr  the  common  doctrine  of  punishment  annexes  to 
the  law  of  God  a  most  unmerciful  penalty ;  it  makes 
God  punish  men  eternally,  and  of  course  without  any 
design  to  do  them  the  least  possible  good.  With  such 
views  the  feeble  in  mind  despair,  and  contract  a  mor- 
bid insensibility  to  danger,  and  the  strong  in  spirit  brave 
it  out,  despising  not  only  the  law,  but  also  the  lawgiver. 
They  look  upon  God  as  a  hard  master,  who  rules  with 
a  despotic  sway — upon  his  law  as  a  grevious  burden — 
upon  themselves  as  slaves,  who  have  no  further  interest 
in  obedience,  than  an  escape  from  the  merciless  wrath 
of  a  despotic  lawgiver. 

On  the  other  hand,  Universalism  makes  punishment 
mild  and  merciful — the  law  itself  holy  and  good — man 
a  child,  and  the  penalty  of  the  law,  the  wise  and  salu- 
tary chastisement  of  a  kind  friend,  who  seeks  by  it  to 
turn  our  wandering  feet  from  the  way  of  destruction 
and  misery,  to  the  path  of  virtue,  where  alone  we  can 
be  happy.  Now  I  say  that  in  order  for  punishment  to 
be  effectual,  its  justice  must  be  seen,  and  its  goodness 
appreciated.  Any  other  view  of  punishment  though  it 
may  make  slaves  and  hypocrites,  can  never  produce  that 
cheerful  and  spontaneous  obedience  which  flows  from  a 
willing  heart.  I  say,  therefore,  that  Universalism  is 
calculated  to  exert  a  higher  and  purer  moral  influence 
than  any  other  system,  because  it  appeals  to  the  hearts, 
rather  than  the  fears  of  men. 

But  again.  Punishment  in  order  to  be  eflectual,  must 
be  speedy  and  certain.  In  both  these  respects,  oiir  views 
of  punishment  have  a  decided  advantage  over  all  othei 
18* 


210  INFLUENCE    OF    UNIVERSALISM. 

systems.  The  common  doctrines  of  the  day,  do  indeed 
threaten  a  most  tremendously  severe  punishment,  but 
they  nullify  its  influence  by  placing  it  far  in  the  future, 
for  their  language  is  like  that  of  the  false  prophets  of 
Israel,  "  He  prophesies  of  the  things  that  are  afar  off, 
and  the  vision  that  he  seelh  is  for  many  days  to  come." 
But  to  cap  the  climax,  and  as  if  on  purpose  to  palliate 
all  fear,  and  destroy  entirely  the  influence  of  punishment, 
they  offer  to  the  vilest  sinner,  an  easy  method  of  escap- 
ing from  that  punishment,  which  is,  in  the  first  place, 
removed  to  the  dim  distance  of  future  years,  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  mortal  vision. 

Should  our  legislature  pass  a  law,  that  the  man  who 
was  guilty  of  theft  should  be  punished  with  death  at 
the  stake,  thirty  years  from  the  time  of  transgression, 
you  would  at  once  say,  that  although  the  punishment 
was  severe,  yet  it  could  have  no  effect,  for  the  reason 
that  it  was  too  far  off.  But  should  they  add  a  clause, 
providing  that  at  any  time  during  the  thirty  years,  the 
thief  shall  have  the  privilege  of  repenting,  and  if  he 
does  so,  the  punishment  shall  not  be  inflicted  at  all,  you 
would  laugh  them  to  scorn.  And  yet  this  is  a  faithful 
and  true,  though  faint  representation  of  the  common 
notion  of  the  law  of  God  and  its  penalty.  He  has  given, 
to  man  a  law,  and  annexed  to  that  law  a  penalty,  incon- 
ceivably lasting  and  severe.  But  when  we  ask  is  it  to 
be  inflicted  ?  The  answer  is,  not  while  man  shall  live 
in  this  world.  It  is  reserved  to  another  state  of  exis- 
tence, and  is  placed  behind  that  curtain  which  separates 
time  from  eternity.  And  will  it  certainly  be  inflicted 
upon  every  man  that  violates  the  law?  Oh  !  no,  for  the 
most  hardened  offender  can  at  any  time,  during  this  life 
repent,  and  in  one  brief  hour  he  shall  be  placed  out  of 
all  danger  from  the  penalty  of  the  law.     Thus  do  these 


nsTLUENCE    OF    UNIVERSALISM.  211 

doctrines  perpetually  cry,  in  the  language  of  the  serpent, 
"  Ye  shall  not  surely  die:'  Ye  may  sin,  and  ye  shall 
have  your  whole  lives  given  you  to  perform  a  work  which 
can  be  done  in  an  hour,  and  when  done,  shall  give  you 
a  clear  escape  from  the  penalty  of  the  law. 

On  the  other  hand,  Universalism  teaches  that  the  pen- 
alty of  the  law,  though  mild  and  merciful,  is  speedy  and 
sure.  Her  language  is,  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
of  the  fruit  of  sin,  thou  shalt  surely  die,"  and  there  is  no 
escape,  for  "he  that  doeth  wrong  shall  receive  for  the 
wrong  that  he  hath 'done,  and  there  is  no  respect  of  per- 
sons." Ye  may  flatter  yourselves  that  punishment  is 
far  away,  and  with  a  hope  of  an  easy  escape,  but  it  is  an 
idle  dream.  It  is  nigh  thee,  even  at  thy  doors,  and  will 
most  surely  come  upon  thee.  These  are  the  doctrines 
of  Universalism  upon  the  subject  of  punishment,  and  it  is 
evident,  at  a  glance,  that  they  are  capable  of  exercising 
a  far  more  powerfully  restraining  influence  than  any- 
other  system  can  boast. 

II.  Universalism  presents  the  character  of  God  in  such 
a  light  that  it  will  draw  out  the  aflections  of  the  believ- 
er's heart  in  love  to  him,  and  good  will  to  his  children. 
Love  to  God,  and  good  will  to  man,  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion of  all  true  morality.  On  these  two  commands 
hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets.  That  system,  there- 
fore, is  best  calculated  to  exercise  a  salutary,  moral  in 
fiuence,  which  can  best  secure  obedience  to  these  two 
requirements.  Now,  I  say,  that  the  best  possible  way 
to  make  a  man  love  God,  is,  to  stamp  on  his  mind  the 
conviction,  that  God  is  his  friend  and  his  father.  You 
may  draw  a  picture  of  the  great  divinity,  clothed  in  ven- 
geance as  with  a  garment,  and  roll  over  the  head  of  the 
sinner  the  tremendous  thunders  of  eternal  wrath,  to  the 
end  of  his  days,  and  though  you  mar  thus  make  him 


212  INFLUENCE   OF    UXIVEESALISM. 

tremble  like  a  slave,  you  cannot  make  him  love  like  a 
child.  But  tell  a  man  that  God  is  good ;  stamp  on  his  mind 
the  full  conviction,  that  in  heaven  there  is  one  who  is  bet- 
ter than  all,  whose  kindness  knows  no  bounds,  and  whose 
faithfulness  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  the  souls  that 
he  has  made ;  and  then  you  touch  the  heart  and  draw 
out  the  soul  in  love  to  him,  as  a  being  infinitely  worthy 
of  the  warmest  devotions  of  the  mind.  This  is  what 
Universalism  teaches,  and  hence  I  say,  that  before  all 
systems,  and  ahove  all  systems,  it  is  most  powerful  in  its 
influence  to  secure  love  to  God. 

Love  to  our  neighbor  is  the  next  in  the  catalogue  ot 
moral  virtues.  How  shall  that  be  secured?  Not  by 
convincing  a  man  that  his  neighbor  is  a  mass  of  total 
depravity,  hated  of  God,  and  destined  to  be  fuel  for  hell 
fire,  and  fit  only  for  a  companion  of  devils.  Such  views 
as  these  can  never  go  one  step  toward  making  a  man 
love  his  neighbor.  But  convince  a  man  that  his  neigh- 
bor is  his  brother,  a  child  of  the  same  God,  and  an  heir 
of  the  same  immortal  and  incorruptible  inheritance,  and 
when  that  truth  is  fixed  in  the  mind,  he  will  love  him, 
as  one  to  whom  he  is  bound  by  a  common  interest,  com- 
mon origin,  and  common  destiny.  This  is  what  Uni- 
versalism teaches.  It  tells  a  man  to  recognise  in  all 
around  him,  the  children  of  the  same  God,  and  the 
heirs  of  the  same  inheritance  as  himself,  and  calls  on 
him  to  love  them  with  the  whole  heart.  Its  moral  in- 
fluence then  must  be  good,  for  it  will  produce  love  to 
God  and  good  will  to  man  ;  and  as  for  all  other  moral  du- 
ties, they  are  but  the  streams  that  flow  from  this  foun- 
tain. Keep  the  fountain  full,  and  the  streams  will  noJ 
fail  to  flow  continually. 

I  am  frequently  questioned  upon  the  subject  of  the  re- 
quirements of  Universalism.    If  that  be  true,,  what  has 


INFLUENCE   OF   UNI  VERBALISM.  21  Jj^, 

man  to  do  ?  is  the  question.  I  answer,  "  Love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 
That  is  all.  If  you  love  God,  you  will  serve  him,  and 
if  you  love  your  neighbour,  you  will  do  him  goo(\  and 
not  evil. 

There  are  many  other  views  that  I  might  take  of  the 
subject,  all  tending  to  establish  the  truth  of  the  position 
I  have  assumed.  But  I  am  admonished  that  it  is  time 
to  bring  this  discourse  to  a  close.  I  can  prove,  with  the 
clearness  of  light,  in  theory,  that,  upon  all  the  kno\vn 
principles  and  laws  of  the  human  mind,  Universalism  is 
superior  to  any  other  system  in  its  moral  tendency.  But 
after  all,  it  is  better  to  do  so  practically.  Let  us  live  the 
doctrine  we  profess,  and  we  shall  demonstrate  the  fact, 
beyond  all  controversy.  Bigotry  may  resist  the  force  of 
evidence,  and  sophistry  may  evade  the  most  cogent  rea- 
soning ;  but  there  is  a  silent  power  in  virtue,  that  noth- 
ing can  withstand. 

Again,  then,  I  say,  let  those  who  profess  to  believe, 
live  as  their  faith  dictates;  and  though  a  silent,  yet  will 
it  be  a  more  powerful  argument,  in  favor  of  the  moral 
power  of  the  doctrine,  than  I  could  put  together,  even 
though  I  could  come  to  you  with  the  r3al  of  a  Paul,  and 
the  eloquence  of  an  Apollos  ! 


914  DECISION  OF  CHARACTiai 


SERMON    XV. 

DECISION    OF    CHARACTER    A   RELIGIOUS 
DUTY. 

"How  long  halt  ye,  between  two  opinions?    If  the  Lord  be  God, follow* 
him  ;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  liim.  1  Kings  xviii.  21. 

The  Scriptures  enjoin  upon  men  the  utmost  frankness, 
honesty  and  decision  of  character.  Hypocrisy,  whether 
it  proceed  from  irresolution,  motives  of  policy,  or  dis- 
honesty of  mind,  finds  no  excuse  in  the  teachings  of  the 
sacred  volume.  It  is  taken  for  granted,  that  the  subject 
of  religion  is  of  sufficient  importance,  to  give  it  a  claim 
upon  the  attention  of  every  man.  And  for  this  reason 
the  Bible  appeals  to  all  men,  everywhere,  to  make  up 
their  minds  upon  the  subject,  and  to  act  according  to  the 
teachings  of  the  judgement,  and  the  admonitions  of  con- 
science, in  all  honesty  and  sincerity  before  God  and  man. 
We  are  not  however  required  to  rush  blindly  into  this 
matter,  as  the  horse  rusheth  into  the  battle,  but  we  are 
first  to  prove  all  things,  and  having  proved  them,  to  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good.  So  thought  Elijah  in  the  text, 
and  the  circumstances  with  which  it  stands  connected. 
The  people  worshipped  an  idol  called  Baal,  and  when 
they  had  gathered  together,  he  proposed  to  give  them  a 
test  of  the  respective  merits  of  Baal  and  the  God  of 
Israel.  And  when  he  should  have  placed  before  them 
the  means  of  f)rming  a  correct  opinion,  he  exhorts  them 
'.0  make  no  delay,  but  to  choose  for  themselves,  once  and 


A  RELIGIOUS  DUTY.  21u 

for  ever,  whom  they  woula  follow.  I  have  no  lime  to 
spend  upon  these  circumstances,  and  that  work  may  be 
unnecessary,  as  I  presume  you  have  already  anticipated 
the  use  I  intend  to  make  of  the  exhortation  of  the  text. 

This  is  the  last  of  the  series  of  lectures  in  which  I 
have  been  for  some  time  past  engaged.  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  set  before  you  the  difference  between  our  faith, 
and  the  popular  creeds  of  the  day,  as  well  as  the  rea- 
sons we  render  for  our  opinions.  I  have  labored,  to  the 
best  of  my  feeble  abilities,  to  put  you  in  possession  of 
the  means  of  judging  between  ours,  and  the  prevailing 
views  of  the  character  of  God,  and  the  economy  of  his 
grace.  In  the  present  discourse  I  would  persuade  you, 
if  I  could,  to  come  to  a  definite  conclusio  in  the  case, 
and  having  decided,  to  act  as  honesty  anu  duty  shall 
dictate,  without  fear  or  favor. 

I  have  no  disposition  to  conceal  the  fact,  that  there  is 
a  wide  and  irreconcilable  difference  between  us  and  oui 
opposers,  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  if  we  are  right,  they 
are  wrong,  not  merely  in  some  small  points,  but  radi- 
cally and  I  had  almost  said  totally  wrong.  This  is  a 
truth  with  which  we  are  well  acquainted,  and  that  man 
pursues  a  mistaken  policy,  nay,  even  a  wicked  course  of 
hypocrisy,  who  attempts  to  conceal  this  fact.  There  is 
no  manner  of  use  in  endeavouring  to  make  it  appear, 
that  there  is  but  a  shade  of  difference  between  us  and 
other  denominations,  for  there  is  a  difference,  high  as 
heaven,  Avide  as  the  earth ;  a  difference  as  hopelessly 
and  utterly  irreconcilable  as  light  and  darkness,  and 
there  is  no  disguising  the  obvious  truth,  that  if  one  system 
is  true  the  other  is  false,  desperately  and  hopelessly  false, 
I  had  almost  said,  in  its  whole  length  and  breadth. 

I  make  these  remarks  because,  in  my  judgement,  they 
have  an  important  bearinar  upon  our  duty  in  the  cas& 


216  DECISION  OF  CHARACTER, 

If  there  was  but  a  slight  shade  of  difference  between  us., 
then  it  would  be  of  little  consequence  which  we  should 
choose,  or  indeed  whether  we  made  any  choice  at  all. 
Had  Baal  and  the  God  of  Israel  been  so  very  near  alike, 
that  one  could  scarcely  tell  the  difference  between  the 
two,  we  should  never  have  heard  Elijah  caUingupon  the 
people,  with  such  earnestness  as  he  evidently  manifests 
in  the  text,  to  choose  whom  they  would  serve.  But  the 
prophet  felt  that  there  was  a  wide,  and  an  irreconcila- 
ble difference  between  the  two.  He  knew  if  the  Lord 
was  God,  Baal  was  a  dumb  idol,  and  his  worship  the 
grossest  idolatry,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  peo- 
ple innocently  to  worship  both  God  and  Baal,  and  for 
this  reason  he  called  on  them  to  make  their  election, 
and  having  made  it,  to  act  as  honesty  and  sincerity 
should  dictate.  So  in  this  case,  there  is  a  difference  be- 
tween Universalism  and  Partialism,  so  wide  that  they 
cannot  both  be  true.  A  man  can  no  more  be  a  Univer- 
salist  and  a  Partialist,  than  he  could  serve  both  God  and 
Baal.  Every  man  must  be  either  a  Partialist  or  a  Uni- 
versalist,  for  he  cannot  be  both,  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  I  go  even  farther,  and  say  that  no  man  can  inno- 
cently believe  the  one,  and  yet  support  the  other.  For 
this  reason  then,  if  for  no  other,  it  becomes  your  duty, 
first  to  examine,  and  then  to  choose  between  them,  and 
act  accordingly.  I  do  not  mean  that  a  man  is  bound  to 
become  a  flaming  bigot,  to  "  damn  all  parties  but  his 
own,"  and  to  deny  all  the  common  courtesies  and  civili- 
ties of  life,  to  those  who  do  not  see  with  his  eyes.  But 
I  would  be  understood  to  say  distinctly,  that  every  man 
is  bound  to  act,  in  these  matters  with  a  strict  and  con- 
scientious regard  to  principle.  If  he  believes  the  Lord 
to  be  God,  he  ought  to  worship  and  serve  him,  and  he 
cannot  innocently  build  the  temples  of  Baal,  or  bow  at 


A  RELIGIOUS  DUTY.  217 

his  altars.  To  speak  without  a  figure,  if  a  man  is  fully 
convinced  in  his  own  judgement  that  Universalism  is 
true,  he  is  bound  in  all  honesty  to  say  so,  and  to  pursue 
a  corresponding  course  of  conduct,  and  he  cannot  advo- 
cate  or  support  any  of  the  partial  systems  of  the  day, 
without  incurring  the  just  charge  of  hypocrisy,  because 
the  doctrines  are  so  different  that  they  cannot  be  mis- 
taken, the  one  for  the  other. 

These  are  positions  that  few  would  attempt  to  con- 
trovert in  theory,  and  yet  there  are  multitudes,  who 
practically  deny  them  every  day  of  their  lives.  There 
are  men  who  live  to  old  age  caring  for  none  of  these 
things,  never  having  made  them  a  subject  of  reflection 
or  examination.  There  are  others  so  bigoted  in  favor 
of  Baal,  that  they  will  not  examine  to  see  whether  God 
has  any  claims  upoQ  them  or  not.  Still  again  there  are 
others,  (and  their  name  is  legion,  for  they  are  many) 
who,  though  convmced  that  Universalism  is  true,  as  far 
as  they  are  convinced  of  any  thing,  yet  through  fear  of 
reproach,  love  of  gain,  popularity,  or  some  other  unholy 
motive,  turn  their  backs  upon  what  they  believe,  and 
support  that  which  their  own  judgements  condemn  as 
utterly  false.  To  all  these  classes  I  appeal  in  this  dis- 
course, and  I  urge  it  upon  them,  that  they  be  either  one 
thing  or  the  other.  Either  condemn  Universalism  en- 
tirely, or  act  as  if  you  believed  it.  "  If  the  Lord  be  God 
follow  him  ;  if  Baal  then  follow  him." 

I  will  now  proceed  to  lay  before  you  some  considera- 
tions that  urge  to  the  performance  of  this  duty. 

I.  The  importance  of  the  questions  at  issue,  demand 
it  at  our  hands. 

Were  it  a  mere  matter  of  idle  curiosity,  thai  could 
have  no  influence  upon  our  conduct  or  happiness,  or  upon 
the  interests  of  our  fellow  men,  then  might  we  be  ex- 
19 


218  DECISION   OF   CHARACTER, 

cused  from  engaging  in  it  at  all.  But  such  is  not  the 
fact.  The  subjects  involved  in  the  controversy  between 
UniversalJsts  and  others,  are  of  vast  and  incalculable  im- 
portance; theyenter  into  men's  business  and  bosoms,  and 
exercise  a  commanding  and  controlling  interest,  upon 
human  happiness  and  public  morals.  So  long  as  man 
is  a  frail  and  dependent  being,  living  upon  the  bounty 
of  God,  and  depending  upon  him  at  all  times  for  life  and 
happiness,  it  can  never  be  a  matter  of  small  moment, 
whether  God  is  a  tyrant,  who  creates  but  to  curse,  or  a 
friend  whose  immutable  purpose  it  is  to  deliver,  protect 
and  bless.  Nor  is  the  fate  of  man  in  the  future  world 
of  small  consequence.  As  an  individual,  I  have  a  deep 
and  abiding  interest  in  the  question,  whether  I  am  to 
live  beyond  the  grave  1  And  if  so,  whether  I  am  to  rise 
to  a  purer  and  happier  state,  or  sink  down  to  the  realms 
of  inconceivable  and  endless  torment.  And  when  I  look 
around  me  upon  my  children,  and  feel  that  my  own  weal 
or  wo.  is  indissolubly  connected  with  theirs,  I  cannot 
deem  it  a  matter  of  no  importance,  whether  these  dear 
objects  of  my  affections,  are  destined  in  the  counsels  of  God 
to  unite  their  voices  in  the  deathless  song  of  joy  on  high, 
or  to  lift  up  their  cries,  in  the  waitings  and  contortions 
of  never  ending  despair.  In  like  manner,  when  I  look 
around  me  upon  my  friends  and  neighbours,  and  feel 
that  I  am  bound  to  love  them,  even  as  myself,  I  cannot 
persuade  myself,  that  I  ought  to  be  indifferent  to  a  ques- 
tion that  involves  their  immortal  happiness  or  misery. 
And  when  I  send  abroad  my  imagination  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  with  all  its  thronging  myriads  of  human  be- 
ings, and  remember  that  they  are  all  bound  to  me  by  a 
common  origin  and  a  common  brotherhood,  I  feel  that 
I  am  interested  in  knowing  their  destiny,  and  I  ought 
not  to  pass  by  with  indifference  the  question,  whether 


A  RELIGIOUS  Dunr.  2}9 

ihey  are  to  be  saved  or  damned.  Just  in  proportion  to 
ihe^  importance  of  these  subjects,  therefore,  is  my  obli- 
gation to  examine  them  with  care;  and  having  ex- 
amined, to  choose  between  them,  and  having  chosen,  to 
act  accordingly.  It  is  a  question  of  endless  joy,  or  cease- 
less wo;  and  that,  too, for  unnumbered  and  unborn  mil- 
lions of  my  kindred,  my  dearest  friends,  my  own  chil- 
dren, my  companion  and  myself;  and  I  ought  not  to  halt 
between  two  opinions,  or  rest  satisfied  without  having 
come  to  a  firm  and  an  unshaken  conclusion. 

II.  The  interests  of  community  at  large  require  us  to 
perform  the  duty  enjoined  in  the  text. 

This  is  true  both  in  regard  to  the  morals  and  the  hap- 
piness of  community.  This  world  is  at  best  but  a 
state  of  alternate  sunshine  and  storm,  and  w^e  may  not 
expect  to  pass  through  life  without  suffering  some  of  its 
ills.  To  sustain  us  under  these  trials,  v.'e  need  the 
hopes  and  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel.  But  such  is  the 
general  and  dreadful  apostacy  from  the  faith  of  the  great 
Redeemer,  that  the  very  Gospel  which  was  given  us  as  a 
source  of  richest  enjoyment,  is  changed  to  a  fountain  of 
bitterness,  and  is  made  one  of  the  most  fruitful  sources 
of  misery.  The  sectarian  dogmas  of  the  day  go  into  all 
the  ramifications  of  society,  and  wherever  they  go,  they 
cause  many  a  sigh,  and  many  a  tear.  The  father  looks 
upon  his  sons,  and  the  mother  upon  her  blooming  daugh- 
ters, and  their  bosoms  heave  with  anguish,  as  they 
reflect  that  these  objects  of  their  afi'ections  are  out  of  the 
ark  of  safety,  and  may  become  the  sport  of  fiends,  and 
the  companions  of  devils,  in  the  regions  of  perpetual  tor- 
ment. Friend  looks  upon  friend,  and  weeps  at  the 
thought  that  they  must  part,  and  that  while  one  shall 
rejoice  in  heaven,  the  other  must  weep  in  hell.  Parents 
rr  Durn  over  their  children  that  are  torn  from  their  em- 


220  DECISION   OF   CHARACTER, 

brace  J.y  death,  not  so  much  because  they  are  dead,  as 
because  they  fear,  awfully  fear,  that  they  are  in  hell. 
Widows  and  orphans,  go  to  the  grave  of  a  husband  and 
a,  fiither,  and  they  mourn  that  their  friend  and  protector 
is  dead.  But  more  terrible  than  death  itself,  is  the 
dreadful  thought  that  he  to  whom  they  were  bound  by 
ten  thousand  ties  of  love,  may  now  be  lifting  up  his  eyes 
in  the  hopeless  agonies  of  the  infernal  pit.  They  wept 
before ;  but  this  fills  the  cup  of  sorrow  with  its  bitterest 
dregs,  and  calls  out  the  deepest  moan  of  affliction. 
Thus  it  is,  all  abroad,  around  you,  through  all  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land ;  in  every  city,  in  every  street, 
in  every  village,  in  every  hamlet,  in  every  dwelling, 
there  are  minds  disturbed,  hearts  lacerated  and  bleeding, 
souls  haunted  Avith  spectres  of  endless  wo,  which  come 
in  the  daylight,  and  in  the  darkness  of  night,  and  poison 
Rvery  cup  of  enjoyment. 

This  is  no  idle  fiction,  no  empty  declamation,  but  it 
nas  its  foundation  in  sober  fact,  and  that  you  may  better 
appreciate  its  truth,  I  will  make  the  application  to  your 
own  city.  The  past  has  been  a  cold  and  dreary  winter 
of  suffenng.  Shivering  limbs,  and  hungry  children 
have  been  around  us,  and  called  for  charity.  It  has  also 
been  a  season  of  most  extraordinary  religious  excitement. 
Churches  have  been  thronged  from  the  dawn  of  morn- 
ing to  the  dark  hour  of  midnight,  and  all  that  mighty 
minds  and  commanding  eloquence  could  do  has  been 
done  to  excite  the  public  mind,  and  alarm  the  fears  of 
the  people.  The  public  mind  has  been  excited,  and  the 
most  dreadful  fears  have  been  aroused.  And  now,  which 
think  you,  has  produced  most  unhappiness  in  this  city, 
during  the  last  four  months,  poverty  and  want — or  re- 
ligious excitement  ?  Could  you  but  lift  the  veil  from 
the  public  mind,  and  follow  the  multitude  from  th* 


J4.   RELIGIOUS   DUTY.  ^1 

scene  of  excitement  to  their  homes  could  you  Know 
their  musings  upon  the  way,  their  dread  forebodings  in 
the  family  circle,  their  painful  meditations  upon  the  bed 
in  the  silence  of  night,  the  wretched  a-nxieties  of  parents 
for  their  children,  of  children  for  their  parents,  of  all  for 
tnomselves;  the  sombre  musings  of  those  who  by  a  law 
of  the  human  mind,  are  precipitated  from  the  pinnacle 
of  hope  to  the  valley  of  despair :  from  the  fire  of  over- 
heated excitement,  to  the  frost  and  cold  of  utter  indiffer- 
ence ;  could  you  see  all  this,  as  it  exists  in  reality  around 
you,  I  doubt  not  you  would  agree  with  me  in  the  opinion 
that  the  actual  misery  caused  by  poverty  and  bodily  dis- 
tress, severe  as  it  has  been,  has  nevertheless  been  light 
and  small,  when  compared  with  that  which  has  proceed- 
ed from  mental  anxieties,  caused  by  a  false  and  spurious 
theology.  This  has  opened  the  deepest  fountains  of  hu- 
man wo,  and  called  out  more  sighs  and  tears  than  all  the 
frosts  and  snows  of  a  cold  and  blustering  winter,  and  all 
the  pains  of  stern  necessity  and  want. 

I  say  then,  that  the  happiness  of  community  at  large, 
calls  upon  every  man  who  desires  the  felicity  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  around  him,  not  to  halt  between  two  opinions, 
but  to  choose  whom  he  will  serve ;  and  having  made  hi» 
choice,  to  lend  his  aid  and  influence  in  staying  the  deso- 
lating march  of  error,  and  in  rolling  back  that  deep  tide 
of  misery,  that  now  flows  over  the  land,  and  darkens  all 
the  face  of  human  society.  I  tell  you  that  the  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel  of  impartial  grace,  afi'ord  the  only  anti- 
dote to  these  evils.  The  power  of  infidelity  has  been 
tried,  and  has  failed.  Indifference  and  skepticism  are 
but  a  poor  shield  against  these  enemies  of  our  peace.  It 
is  a  fixed  and  settled  faith  in  the  G-od  and  Saviour  of  all, 
and  that  alone,  that  can  check  the  rising  fear,  dispel  the 
gloomy  doubt,  hush  the  anxious  thought,  and  yield  cod 
19=^ 


222  DECISION   OF   CHARACTER, 

tinual  peace.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  wild  uproar  and 
confusion — this  commotion  of  the  elements,  and  this  un- 
settling of  the  usual  foundations  of  confidence  in  God 
and  his  gracious  care — this  triumph  of  fear  when  the 
public  mind,  unmoored  from  its  fastenings,  has  been 
driven  at  the  mercy  of  the  furious  winds  of  fanaticism, 
how  has  it  fared  with  the  steadfast  believer  in  God's 
boundless  grace,  and  in  the  ultimate  felicity  of  a  world  ? 
Why,  he  has  stood  firmly  upon  a  rock  that  could  not  be 
moved.  Calm  and  tranquil  as  the  bosom  of  the  placid 
waters,  sleeping  in  sunlight,  and  undisturbed  by  the 
winds,  has  been  his  mind.  No  anxious  fears,  no  doubts 
of  gloomy  aspect,  no  dread  forebodinsfs  of  hopeless  wo, 
have  disturbed  his  noonday  walks,  or  his  midnight 
slumbers.  When  all  around  him  ha^'  been  a  scene  of 
mental  anxiety,  and  despair  has  stalked  abroad  with  a 
wild  and  haggard  look,  he  has  been  at  peace.  He  has 
looked  up  to  God.  There  all  his  hopes  have  centered ; 
and  though  storms  and  tempests  have  been  around  him, 
he  has  feared  no  evil ;  for  he  knoweth  that  the  rod  and 
the  staff  of  the  Almighty,  shall  suppoit  and  guide 
him,  and  with  him,  all  his  fearful,  doubting  fellows, 
safely  to  the  haven  of  rest.  I  call  on  you,  then,  as  the 
friends  of  human  happiness,  to  choose  this  day  whom  ye 
will  serve.  "  If  the  Lord  be  God  follow  him ;  but  if 
Baal,  then  follow  him." 

But  the  public  morals  are  concerned  in  this  matter.  I 
nave  more  than  once  said,  that  love  to  God,  and  good 
will  to  man,  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  true  morality, 
and  I  have  shown  that  faith  in  God,  as  an  impartial 
friend  and  Saviour,  and  a  belief  that  man,  universally, 
is  our  brother,  is  far  better  calculated  to  make  men  love 
God  and  one  another,  than  any  other  faith.  With 
these  views,  it  will  appear  that  the  whole  system  of 


A  RELIGIOUS  DUTY.  223 

effort  for  moral  reform,  is  wrong  and  powerlesSr  It  all 
rests  upon  the  position,  that  man  is  to  be  govertied  by 
his  fears,  and  driven  to  duty,  as  the  trembling  slave 
with  the  lash.  For  ages  men  have  sought  to  drive 
their  fellows  to  virtue  with  the  war-club  of  dam- 
nation, rather  than  to  entice  them  with  the  olive-branch 
of  peace.  But  after  all,  sin  abounds  more  and  more. 
The  principle  has  been  long  and  faithfully  tried,  and  its 
inefficiency  is  written  upon  the  face  of  society,  and  upon 
the  history  of  the  world. 

I  appeal  to  you,  if  it  is  not  time  that  something  else 
were  adopted,  even  if  it  be  for  nothing  else  than  an  ex- 
periment. Long  has  man  been  driven  with  the  lash  of 
fear  ;  it  is  high  time  to  try  the  constraining  influence  of 
love  and  mercy.  Long  has  man  been  treated  as  a 
slave ;  it  is  time  to  begin  to  treat  him  as  a  child,  and  win 
him  to  virtue  by  the  tenderness  of  a  father's  kindness. 
Long,  too  long,  have  the  teachers  in  Israel  sought  to  drive 
human  nature  out  .of  man,  by  some  sudden  and  myste- 
rious change,  and  too  plainly  is  the  fact  written  out  upon 
the  face  of  society,  that  the  attempt  has  failed,  utterly 
failed,  and  that  maugre  all  the  "  new  hearts  "  that  men 
get,  human  nature  will  be  human  nature  after  all,  and 
the  new  heart  is  not  unfrequently  as  bad,  or  perhaps 
worse,  than  the  old  one.  It  is  time  for  the  moralist  to 
cease  his  war  upon  human  nature,  and  instead  of  labour- 
ing to  pluck  up  the  tree  let  him  seek  to  prune  it,  and 
train  and  cultivate  its  branches,  that  it  may  grow  up  in 
fair  proportions,  and  flourish  in  its  beauty,  and  bring 
forth  abundantly  the  peaceable  fruits  o^  righteousness. 

Bigotry  and  all  uncharitableness,  abound  in  the  land. 
Strife  and  contention  are  rife  around  us,  and  so  it  will  be 
as  long  7s  that  worst  of  all  aristocracies,  a  religious  aris- 
tocracy, exists,  and  lifts  the  few  above  the  many,  by 


224  DECISION    OF   CHARACTER. 

allowing  them  to  claim  a  monopoly  of  the  blessings  of 
God,  and  of  heaven  itself  The  moral  wants  of  man 
call  for  a  system  that  shall  level  all  the  proud  distinc- 
tions of  earth,  and  break  down  the  separating  walls  of 
partition,  that  have  so  long  and  so  injm-iously  separated 
man  from  his  fellow  man.  Such  a  system  is  Universal- 
ism.  It  seeks  to  lead  men  rather  than  drive  them  with 
the  lash.  It  wars  not  with  nature,  but  seeks  to  improve 
and  direct  its  course,  and  rear  it  up  to  its  perfection.  It 
teaches  that  God  is  our  Father,  and  man  everywhert* 
our  brother — places  all  on  one  common  level — promises 
all  one  common  inheritance,  and  asks  us  to  love  God 
and  serve  him,  by  being  kind  to  his  creatures,  and  our 
brethren.  Thus  it  curbs  the  head  long  passions,  breaks 
down  the  pride  of  the  haughty,  and  infuses  into  the 
heart  that  love  which  shows  itself  in  works  of  kindness, 
justice,  mercy,  charity  and  benevolence. 

But  there  is  another  view  to  be  taken  of  this  subject. 
The  present  is  emphatically  an  age  of  excitement.  The 
heaving  elements  of  mind  are  in  commotion  around  us. 
There  is  excitement  in  the  political  waters.  There  is 
excitement  in  the  monetary  system.  There  is  excite- 
ment in  the  literary  world ;  and  look  where  you  will, 
excitement  is  there.  I  need  not  speculate  upon  the 
cause.  It  may  be  but  the  natural  effect  of  the  recent 
liberation  of  the  human  mind  from  the  chains  and  fet- 
ters which  had  bound  it  for  ages.  As  the  eagle,  long 
imprisoned,  when  let  loose  from  his  cage,  will  soar  aloft 
to  wet  his  wings  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  gaze  upon 
the  full  orbed  glories  of  the  sun — now  scaling  the  lofty 
mountain's  top,  and  now  darting  with  incredible  velocity 
down  its  rugged  sides.  So  the  human'  mind,  long  cramp- 
ed and  fettered,  is  liberated,  and  it  is  stretched  to  its  ut- 
most tension,  and  riots  in  all  the  luxury  of  its  newly 


A  RELIGIOUS  DUTT.  2S5 

discovei  ed  liberty.  "Whether  this  be  the  cause  or  not, 
the  fact  is  certain,  and  blind  must  be  the  mind  that  can 
look  abroad,  and  not  discover  a  morbid  spirit  of  excita- 
bility which  pushes  to  every  extreme,  and  threatens  to 
end  in  anarchy  and  confusion.  I  appeal  to  you,  if  there 
is  not  need  of  some  voice,  that  shall  speak  to  the  ele 
ments,  as  the  Saviour  once  spoke  to  the  boisterous  waves, 
saymg,  "  Peace  !  be  still ! "  that  a  holy  and  heavenly  calm 
may  ensue.  And  if  so,  I  ask,  where  can  that  voice  be 
found  ?  Is  it  in  the  popular  systems  of  the  day  ?  Alas ! 
they  also  live  in  the  atmosphere  of  excitement,  and  flour- 
ish only  there.  .Their  advocates  have  seized  upon  this 
very  feature  of  the  age,  to  urge  on  their  sectarian  schemes. 
■Religion,  too,  has  become  a  matter  of  excitement.  In- 
stead of  restraining  the  passions,  and  the  workings  of 
this  spirit  of  excitability  fit  is  made  to  live  in  excitement, 
and  to  feed  that  very  morbid  appetite,  that  it  ought  to 
deny. 

Universalism  seeks  to  check  the  workings  of  this 
spirit  of  evil.  It  appeals  not  to  the  passions,  but  to  the 
understanding.  It  asks  men  to  examine  with  calmness, 
to  decide  with  candor  and  deliberation,  and  to  act  with 
prudence,  firmness,  and  circumspection.  It  seeks  to 
make  men  calm,  consistent,  and  reasonable.  And  I  ask, 
is  there  not  need  of  some  influence  to  counteract  that 
wild  spirit  of  excitement,  which  m.arks  the  character  of 
the  age,  and  runs  riot  in  every  department  of  society  ? 
If  so,  then  "how  long  halt  ye  between  two  opinions? 
If  the  Lord  be  God  follow  him,  but  if  Baal,  then  follow 
him." 

But,  alas !  men  who  profess  to  believe  in  God,  and  to 
reject  the  claimS'Of  Baal,  havd  a  thousand  excuses  and 
apologies,  for  neglecting  to  manifest  their  faith  by  thei 
works. 


aiQ  DECISION  OF  CHARACTER, 

This  man  is  a  merchant,  and  he  knows,  that  a  profes* 
sion  of  the  popular  dogmas  of  the  day,  will  secure  him 
custom,  so  he  bows  down  at  the  shrine  of  Baal,  though 
he  believes  him  to  be  no  more  than  an  idol.  That  man 
is  a  Physician,  and  he  knows  that  a  profession  of  faith 
will  get  him  patients,  so  he  professes  with  his  mouth, 
what  he  does  not  believe  in  his  heart.  Another  man  is 
a  politician,  and  he  wants  votes.  He  thinks,  if  he  speaks 
what  he  thinks,  it  may  injure  him,  and  so  he  becomes 
all  things  to  all  men,  and  will  bow  at  the  altars  of  God 
or  Baal,  as  happens  to  be  most  convenient.  Another 
man,  still,  says  he  has  a  great  show  of  charity.  He  be- 
lieves indeed  in  Universalism,  but  he  is  no  bigot,  and  in 
the  excess  of  his  charity,  he  forgets  to  be  honest.  He 
gives  his  means  and  his  influence,  to  support  doctrines 
which  he  says  he  knows  to  be  false.  He  says  he  be- 
lieves in  Universalism,  and  yet  from  week  to  week,  and 
from  sabbath  to  sabbath,  he  sits  under  the  preaching  of 
the  man  who  denounces  Universalism,  as  the  vilest  of 
heresies,  and  gives  all  his  influence  against  it,  because  he 
is  no  bigot,  and  he  wishes  to  be  charitable!!  He  may 
be  no  bigot,  but  he  certainly  is  not  far  from  a  hypocrite. 
In  the  political  world,  if  a  man  should  profess  to  agree 
with  one  party,  and  yet  do  all  he  could  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  other,  he  would  be  scouted  from  both. 
And  yet  in  religion,  men  will  fawn  around  the  painted 
hypocrite  of  this  sort,  and  urge  him  to  go  to  this  church 
or  that,  well  knowing  that  the  man  is  belying  his  con- 
science, and  thert^fore  sinning  against  God.  Eut  I  can- 
not dwell  longer. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  express  my  satisfaction  to  this 
large  assembly,  for  that  patient  attention  with  which 
they  have  listened  to  this  protracted  discussion.  And  I 
call  on  you  as  honest  men  and  women,  as  fathers  and 


A   RELIGIOUS    DUTY. 


227 


mothers,  as  citizens  and  friends,  "  Choose  ye  this  day, 
whom  ye  will  serve.  If  the  Lord  be  God,  then  follow 
him ;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  Amen  and 
Amen. 


THs  sun. 


J 


7 


N  E  T^    YORK 

UNIVERSALIST 


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■O' 


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